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“Many people who gave $100 last year are giving $50 this year. But that just means that we have to work twice as hard, call twice as many donors,” said Director of the Annual Fund Susan Sheehan. “The economy might have changed, but our responsibility to the College is the same.”
The revenue from the Annual Fund, which collects about $9 million each year from donors, was already built into the College’s operating budget well before the economic crisis. “We have no choice but to meet what’s expected of us,” Sheehan noted with resolve.
Despite gloomy forecasts for the global economy and for Vassar’s endowment, the Development Office remains committed—even optimistic—about reaching its goals for the Annual Fund and for fundraising more broadly.
“The economic crisis is absolutely affecting giving, there’s no doubt about it,” said Sheehan. “Donors are being impacted by the same factors that are impacting the markets.” Compared to March 2008, the Annual Fund is behind by about 13 percent; projecting forward to the end of the fiscal year in June, accounting for pledged gifts, it is trailing last year’s numbers by 10 percent.
The declining donation rates are part of the College’s larger financial dilemma. The value of the endowment, which provides about one-third of annual operating revenue, is expected to end the fiscal year at $550 million, down from $845 million in June 2008.
The difficulties of attracting “quality and quantity” of donors to fill this revenue gap is impacting colleges and non-profits throughout the country.
Last year, many institutions of higher education saw record returns. According to a recent survey by the Council for Aid to Education (CAE), donations for the 2008 fiscal year grew 6.2 percent, with universities pulling in a total of $31.6 billion, the highest amount ever recorded.
The survey included only anecdotal reports about donations after July, when the economy began its dive. But Ann Kaplan, the survey director, said several institutions had “hit a wall” by January, with a sharp drop in the number and amount of donations.
Every institution surveyed by the CAE reported that donors who had made multi-year pledges had asked to renegotiate those gifts, to allow more time to complete them.
Last year, Vassar’s Annual Fund raised $9.1 million. In the late summer, before the economy took its sharpest downward turn, the Development Office set their goal for the current fiscal year at $9.2 million.
“Many of our alumnae/i and other donors have seen a significant drop in their personal assets, and the uncertainty of the economic future makes it difficult to plan,” said Vice President for Development Cathy Baer, who coordinates the College’s fundraising efforts. “Many are indicating that while they can’t make large commitments today, they saying ‘Not now, but in the future.’”
Baer is working to ensure that donors feel comfortable giving to Vassar by helping them to arrange donations in the most fiscally responsible way. “We need to be flexible in working with donors, helping them structure gifts and pledges that fit their current financial situation,” she noted.
Sheehan estimates that approximately 250 usual donors have chosen not to give this year. “We’re being sympathetic, and we really do understand that the economy may not allow [alumnae/i] to donate as they once did. But we’re still trying to keep contact with them, anyway—just because they can’t give doesn’t mean that they don’t want to give. They make be in a different position next year.”
Even with the smaller donor base, many alumnae/i have come through with sizable donations to the College. One alumna made a $6 million commitment to the new science facilities in October, just as markets were beginning their decline. Another graduate pledged $1 million to the science facilities soon thereafter. Within the past year, two other male alumni have each pledged $1 million to the College. According to the Development Office, they are the first male graduates of Vassar to top the million-dollar mark, and they hope to be examples for other men of their generation.
Additionally, Vassar recently received a $25 million bequest intention from an alumna, the largest single gift in the College’s history. That money will be put toward the endowment.
“Clearly, there are still strong leadership gifts being made. The problem that we’re experiencing is that they are just fewer and farther between,” Sheehan noted. “In times of financial crisis, though, Vassar [alumnae/i] often think about what’s near and dear to their hearts. We saw the same thing happen in the weeks right after Sept. 11 when we received two $1 million gifts. At the time, the markets were unstable and the country was uncertain, but our graduates thought about the institutions that mattered most to their lives.”
The timing of the current recession is regrettable for Vassar, as the College is planning a major Comprehensive Campaign to coincide with the school’s sesquicentennial anniversary in 2011. Vassar’s last major campaign was conducted in 1996—a longer interval between fundraising initiatives than most peer institutions.
Former President Frances Daly Fergusson raised more than $200 million, a record among liberal arts colleges at the time. The bulk of that money, administrators say, went toward much-needed upgrades of the College’s physical facilities.
In a 2001 interview with the Vassar Quarterly, Fergusson explained their good fortune: “The campaign allowed us to [renovate or build] a whole series of important projects for the campus, including the Library, the [Class of 1951] Observatory, and the new athletic facility,” she said. “We’ve been able to touch virtually every part of this campus in one way or another with the results of that campaign.”
President Catharine Bond Hill noted that the goals of this Comprehensive Campaign would be widespread. “Many of the areas that we’ve been talking about for the past few years now—financial aid, faculty compensation, and needed physical renovations—will all be part of this effort,” she said. Hill would not release the specific dollar target, since the number has not yet been made public, but she did confirm that the dollar amount would exceed $300 million. Two administrators familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the goal would likely be between $400 and $420 million.
The Development Office has been gearing up for the current campaign since 2005. These initial stages—often referred to as the ‘silent’ phases—involved gauging the College’s specific needs and making initial contacts with donors. Vassar will be finalizing these internal conversations over the next 11 months, during which time administrators will closely monitor the financial situation. “If all goes according to plan, the campaign will ‘go public’ at the beginning of next year,” said Sheehan.
Following the example of Barack Obama’s successful presidential campaign, the Development Office will be working on more tech-savvy approaches to fundraising. A forthcoming redesign of their Web site, for example, is expected to streamline the process of giving to Vassar at all financial increments.
Vassar is not the only college dealing with fundraising difficulties and campaigns in the midst of the economic crisis. Amherst College, in a move that The New York Times referred to as “either a sign of stunning confidence or utter foolishness,” announced a $425 million campaign in October.
Despite such sardonic statements by journalists and economists, Vassar’s Development team remains committed to heavier fundraising to mitigate the recession. “Our commitment has not changed, nor has the devotion of our alumnae/i diminished,” said Baer. “It is really an issue of timing. The College’s goals and needs are clear. We are redoubling our efforts in reaching out to and talking with our donors, listening to them, keeping them close to the College. They care deeply about how the College is doing. I know that Vassar is a priority for them and we will see their continued support, if not today, then in the near future.”
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