Donating to College Alma Mater
 

Do you donate to your college alma mater? Why or why not?

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2...#ixzz1y6T4ZDkG

I forgot to create the poll. :p

I donate to both (undergraduate and graduate). I attended public universities in CA and AZ, and received an excellent education. While I'm not a "heavy hitter" (no buildings will ever be named after me), it does give me a sense of quiet pride and satisfaction to be able to specify that my donations are to be applied to a specific department.

While in school, I benefited from "work-study" programs, assistantships, tuition waivers, and small scholarships. My dream is to fund a scholarship and I'm looking into how to do that.

I donate to my undergrad faithfully. I have auto-debit take a certain amount out of my account each month; at the end of each fiscal year, I send a little bit more to a specific cause. Going to the college I did is one of the top four decisions of my life and I want to "pay it forward." I'm also a very loyal volunteer and I sit on my college's Alumni Association Board of Governors.

My graduate school, however, is a different story. While it helped me professionally, I was less than impressed with the faculty and my fellow students. I have donated exactly $25--and that was to a lecture fund in memory of one of my favorite professors. I was the only person in my class who donated.

On a completely different note, I do not donate to my sorority.

I was fortunate enough to receive a full-ride scholarship to my undergraduate alma mater, where tuition alone runs about $35K per year. In gratitude, I have given donations every year since graduating. As my means allow I plan on increasing that amount, and hope to one day "sponsor" a student on the same type of scholarship I received.

I have a collegiate license plate which helps out with undergrad. scholarships otherwise at this point I am so F...ing pissed at A&M vet school for increasing class size and flooding the market with more vets we don't need, I will not give them one dime.

I had a (very close to) full ride scholarship to my undergrad school for playing the violin in their symphony orchestra, chamber orchestra and whatever they needed me for. I ended up majoring in communication. I ended up getting to anchor their broadcast news show, which was fun. I also got to participate in leadership in student government and help start a fraternity. I graduated debt free and will be eternally grateful and loyal to my undergrad school. I do regularly donate both to the liberal arts department and to my fraternity both locally and nationally. My wife is a graduate of the music school. I think whenever I get my law school loans retired, I'm going to see what I can do about repaying some of that scholarship money I received.

Compare that to my law school which clearly was in the business of legal education to profiteer off of law students so it could subsidize the school's undergraduates, pay tier 4 professors $150K-$200K salaries, etc., and I feel like I have already contributed enough. While I've been to a few alumni functions, having them ask me for donations while I'm still paying on my loans is kind of a slap in the face.

I donate a token amount every year and volunteer my time in every way I can. My university is so rich that I can't justify spending much of my philanthropy budget there when there are so many people in need. However, I had a great experience and want to help the university by boosting the donor participation rate.

I can't donate much at this point, however I was excited to discover that the Mason was listed as one of the places I could donate my credit card rewards. I'll periodically donate the rewards. I also volunteer with the admissions office.

Full disclosure, I also use my credit card rewards for gift cards, hah.

Do you mind if I ask why (in a purely curious and non-combative way)? Do you mean to your chapter, or the sorority at large? I ask because I think your organization is doing a lot of great things right now.

See, I'm the other way around.

My last tuition payment to my State U. a decade ago was the last time they received a penny from me. I was forced to attend State U. because it was the only one we could afford at that time. It wasn't a terrible school. It just didn't have a profound impact on my life the way some of yours did. I attend athletic events and proudly sport their gear and that's about it.

I regularly make donations to my high school alma mater and Alpha Gamma Delta because they really changed my life. When the collegians from my chapter have philanthropy events I also don't mind donating case of water or some snacks here and there. It's not much, and whenever I get the SOS email I don't hesitate at all.

I used to work for the development office when I was an undergrad, so I have been eagerly awaiting a call from the "Telefund" to ask for money. Even though I somehow got a parking ticket after graduation, I don't hold a lot of ill will toward the institution. I love the education I received, and the networking has been great (in the DFW area).

I still keep in contact with the Development directors and have let them know that I want to give. Whenever they call, I'll give something.

I serve on my university's alum assoc board and the one thing I've learned is that it isn't the amount of money given, but the number of people who give that matters. There are those fortunate few who can make huge donations, but the reality is that most of us can afford a minimal amount. When universities apply for grants and such, those offering the grants tend to look at the percentage of alumni who donate to see if the grads from the universities support their alma mater. Some schools have ridiculously rich endowments and foundations, but for those of us who go to the area State U the alum donations in any minimal amount can make a HUGE difference.

Moral of the story.....when you get that envelope, put $5 in it and send it back to your alma mater. It absolutely DOES make a difference!

I almost slipped into the script that we used in the development office lol. "US News and World Report's College Rankings rank based on the NUMBER of alums giving rather than the AMOUNT...so anything that you can give would be great!"

No I don't give.

Paying for pretty new buildings at my alma mater is Phil Knight's job. He's happy doing it and most of us are happy to let him. In return he gets to run the show (kind of) and we buy athletic apparel with swooshes all over it. It's a win-win. Well....other than being called whores on a regular basis, but I taught junior high, so I've been called worse. I've made my peace with it. :).

In truth, they call and I say no because I'm not in a financial position to do so and my charitable giving is engaged elsewhere. Besides, as much as I loved my university, my parents paid for me and I paid for my daughter so I feel as if we've done our bit for God and country.

When I win the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, I will reconsider my position. Maybe sooner because I just read AxiDTrish's post and now I feel incredible guilt.

No. Michael Adams is a complete a-hole who increases class sizes, lets in tons of students, but won't hire the needed professors to keep up with the demands of a growing student population. If I knew my money was going towards teaching or research, I might consider giving. Instead, it will be used for sidewalks, fountains, and triumphal arches. I haven't given since I contributed to the senior gift 11 years ago. But Adams is retiring next year, so I may be willing to reconsider. We'll see....