Homecoming is a time for festivity and nostalgia, with Jumbos past and present converging to party hearty and reminisce about parties of yesteryear. However, as many alumni flock to campus, they come knowing that they may leave on Sunday with vivid memories of heavier wallets.
On the eve of one of Tufts' most massive annual fundraising events, administrators are reporting that the University's efforts to increase alumni donations are proving very fruitful.
"The University absolutely thinks about [Homecoming as a development event]. Any opportunity to bring alumni to campus and to see students is a very important part of fund raising," said Eric Johnson, deputy director of the capital campaign.
Alumni have long been the main source of the University's development efforts and, in recent years, they have done so quite generously. At the gala opening of the Gantcher Center last year, University President John DiBiaggio announced that Tufts Tomorrow, its current fund-raising drive, reached had its fundraising goal of $400 million well ahead of schedule. The capital campaign was therefore extended until 2002, and the bar was raised to $600 million.
Since that point, the fund stands at just over $473 million, and efforts to build on this will continue for another 18 months.
"We are almost to the $500 million dollar mark, so we're in really good shape in terms of meeting that capital campaign mark. A lot of exciting things have been happening as result of this fund raising," Alumni Relations Director Tim Brooks said.
Because of historic problems with fund raising, Tufts' total endowment remains significantly smaller than those of its benchmark schools, but recent fundraising efforts have yielded promising results. Tufts ranks 27th - two spots higher than its overall ranking - among national universities for alumni giving, according to the US News and World Report college listing.
"Each year, approximately 30 percent of Tufts alumni make financial contributions. Over the course of the Tufts Tomorrow capital campaign, over 60 percent of Tufts alumni have made a contribution," Vice President of Arts, Science, and Technology Mel Bernstein said.
According to Johnson, the $85 million that Tufts raised last year is "extremely good for a comparable-sized school." University officials attribute much of their success to the school's close relationships with its alumni.
"In a way, we feel like doing events like this is a way to keep alumni connected to the institution and make them feel appreciated, and to give them a feel for what the campus is like today," Brooks said. "If we do Homecoming really well, and the alumni who come back feel terrific about their time here, nine times out of ten they'll want to do something to give back to the University, such as volunteering to recruit students, leading one of our regional support clubs, or supporting the institution with a financial gift."
In addition to the wide base of support the Development Department enjoys, it has recently been able to secure some truly monumental donations.
"During the past year, Tufts has been fortunate to attract a number of significant donations from alumni and friends of the University," Johnson said.
Board of Trustees member Bernard Gordon gave Tufts' largest single gift ever last fall when he donated $20 million to the engineering school. The new University College of Citizenship and Public Service is also benefiting from a $10 million gift from e-Bay founder Pierre Omidyar (LA '88) and his wife Pamela Kerr Omidyar (J '89). There have also been a few smaller multi-million dollar donations.
"Past parents Gary and Karen Winnick (LA '79P) donated $2 million for financial aid... Last November, we celebrated the creation of the Arthur Jr. and Lenore Stern Chair in American History, which was made possible by a $1.5 million gift from trustee James Stern (E '72)," Bernstein said.
Younger alumni, however, say that giving is often difficult, especially right out of college. "Younger classes, say since 1990, tend to have lower participation than older classes. There are a number of reasons for this. These young men and women are usually either in graduate school or just starting their careers," Bernstein said.
Many times, the more socially oriented students - who are documented as the most likely to give - have the most trouble because they take community or government positions that keep them on tight budgets. Vivek Ramgopal (LA '00), a transition member of the Alumni Association who has given to Tufts, noted, however, that the not everybody has to have their own dot-com to have an impact.
"I think that a common misconception is that you always have to donate a large amount. I know that with the US News ranking, it's a percentage, so if every Tufts senior gave one cent, the number would go up," he said.
