by Emily Gerston '11
FEATURES EDITOR
The Class of 2011 Senior Gift Committee has met its most recent fundraising goal, with a 79.2 percent participation rate and $19,780 in gifts. “The Senior Gift Committee has surpassed all of its goals thus far, often in advance of the Presidential Challenge deadlines,” said Jake Lacy ’11, co-chair of the Senior Gift Committee “As a result, the Committee has received an additional $6,000 from President Stewart for the Senior Gift.”
Before the next Presidential Challenge deadline, May 6, the Senior Gift Committee must garner 54 individual gifts in order to reach a 90 percent participation rate, according to Lacy. “It is essential that Committee members continue working hard to reach out to students who have not had a chance to give to the gift yet,” he said. “There are still many students who plan to give; this last push will focus on them, giving them a chance to make their contribution to the Senior Gift count for much more than a dollar amount.”
To encourage seniors to donate, the committee has provided incentives such as a Hamilton College calendar and Senior Gift 2011 pint glasses, and has also held social events to promote the cause. “The long-term goal of the Senior Gift Committee is to foster good giving habits among future alumni,” said Lacy. “Research has shown that Hamilton seniors who give $5 or more to their Senior Gifts are more likely than lesser donors to continue to give back to the institution post-graduation.”
Although there are no official dates on which the committee must meet, it has set incremental fundraising goals in an attempt to obtain as high a participation rate as possible.
Additionally, the Presidential Challenge provides monetary rewards for attaining certain goals, such as the $6,000 incentive the committee received for meeting the last Presidential Challenge deadline. Outside of the Presidential Challenge deadlines, the committee uses past committees’ deadlines as a model for their own deadlines. However, this year’s committee has an even more ambitious goal than that of past years: “The Committee would like to help the Class of 2011 achieve the highest participation rate (98%) this year and in the future,” said Lacy.