Senior Gift Committee meets most recent goal,
pushes on to 79 percent participation rate

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.