Earlier this year, the Divisions of Development and Alumni Engagement set an ambitious goal to receive donations from at least 10% of current undergraduates, which is a little over 300 students, by the end of the 2019 fiscal year, according to Brodie Remington, Vice President of Development.
This goal, which was given to the Division of Alumni Engagement by the President’s Office, will improve Stevens’ rankings in college ranking lists, encourage outside companies to donate to Stevens, and promote a spirit of philanthropy in students before they even graduate, according to Alexis Kenny, Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement, who works with young alumni and leads the effort to increase the number of undergraduates who donate to Stevens.
Administrators noticed that in recent years the percentage of current undergraduates who donate to Stevens has remained very low. According to data provided by Kenny, in fiscal year 2016, 2.25% of undergraduates, or 67 students, donated to Stevens. In fiscal year 2017, 4.07% of undergraduates — 127 students — donated, and in fiscal year 2018, 3.75% of undergraduates — 117 students — donated.
Why few undergraduates haven’t donated to Stevens in the past is unclear, said Kenny. But she suggested that most students either hadn’t been engaged with Stevens’ philanthropic programs before or were limited by personal financial constraints.
When students donate money — which administrators call “gifts” — the size of the donation ranges from low to high dollar amounts. “If you make a, say, $100 million dollar gift, then you did make a gift this year. But if you make a $5 gift, it counts just as much in our participation goal,” Kenny told The Stute.
By encouraging students to make donations, especially of low dollar amounts, the Division of Alumni Engagement expects that they can reach their goal of receiving donations from 10% of current undergraduates.
The 10% goal was set by Remington, who recognized that jumping from last year’s 3.75% participation rate to 10% would be challenging. “10% seemed, to me, a high but achievable bar,” he wrote in a statement to The Stute. “It is double or more than the past giving rate for students, but about half of the 19% goal set for alumni. There is logic to the number, if not ‘science.’”
Some students expressed concerns about donating to Stevens because they are uncertain of where the money will end up. However, when donating, a person has the option to choose the designation of their donation. There are currently 343 options for donators. The types of existing funds span from very specific designations — such as the “Alpha Phi Omega Term Scholarship Fund” or “WCPR Fund” — to general funds, like the Campus Sustainability Fund. Even a current senior design project, Castle Point Rocketry, has its own fund called the “Senior Design Rocket Fund.”
Whether a student donates to a student organization fund or a general Stevens slush fund, and whether the donation is as low as $1 or high as $100, it counts toward the 10% participation goal.
Kenny began her efforts to encourage undergraduates earlier this semester. A “Student Philanthropy Committee” was formed, comprised of student leaders selected by administrators in the Division of Student Affairs.
“I hope through collaborating with existing groups and events on campus, we can get the word out about philanthropy and support projects that students want to support,” Kenny said.
More programs and events focused on encouraging current undergraduates to donate should continue to arise throughout the academic year.
“I’ve had the feedback from students,” said Kenny. “I know the detractions and misconceptions. But our office has such strong goals to support student groups, projects, and scholarships. Yes, we have those data goals, but for me, the job is rewarding because you do make an impact when you have people support. It’s about connecting people, letting people know about causes they can be supporting.”
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