Class of 1996 gift will be largest ever
As of Thursday, the Class of 1996 had pledged to give the College $108,722 over the next four years, thousands more than the Class of 1995 pledged. More than half the class, 526 seniors, made pledges to Dartmouth, Associate Director of the Alumni Fund Joe Whitworth said. "That is the best ever," he said. This year's gift "shatters the '95s' record year last year of 525 [donors] for $102, 614," Whitworth wrote in an e-mail message. This "gives the '96 [fundraising] agents a great head start toward record-setting efforts in the next five years," he wrote. The money raised is used to pay for professors' salaries, financial aid and other general College expenses. Whitworth said part of the reason fundraising was so successful was because of a strong core group of volunteers. Whitworth said each of the four Alumni Fund interns deputized 10 seniors to solicit money. Each of these 40 seniors chose up to 10 agents to help contact seniors. This year's interns, Lauren Currie '96, Charles French '96, Jason Fanuele '96 and Sarah McAlister '96, planned a student telethon in January and organized the spring fundraising drive. McAlister said even though "some people are not willing to give," it is often possible to get seniors to change their minds. Whitworth said there is no typical donation. "We have some people giving $10 a year," he said.
