Annual Giving

An outpouring of generosity
In 2013–2014, annual giving was strong across Yale College and all of Yale’s graduate and professional schools, as alumni, parents, and friends contributed a record-breaking $35.2 million. These gifts provided immediately expendable, unrestricted funding for Yale’s core needs.

Giving to the Yale College Alumni Fund reached a new high of $20.25 million. Along with strong annual giving in the graduate and professional schools, these contributions supported financial aid, teaching, research, collections, and student life.

Alumni and parent volunteers were essential partners in fundraising for annual gifts. More than 2,130 class chairs and class agents volunteered for Yale College, the Graduate School, and the professional schools, making their own annual gifts and encouraging contributions from others.

At the helm was Randolph M. Nelson ’85, P ’13, P ’16, P ’17, who served a two-year term as chairman of the Yale Alumni Fund that concluded in June 2014. Nelson was an outstanding role model for donors, volunteers, parents, and students through his personal giving and his work with his class, where he was also co-chair of agents. He led the Alumni Fund to two consecutive records in revenue.

Challenges spur giving and participation
Among the highlights this year were special events and challenges that encouraged annual giving:

  • In November 2013, alumni from all Yale College classes took part in the third annual Yale-Harvard Alumni Fund Participation Challenge to see which university could secure the highest number of gifts leading up to The Game. Yale alumni beat Harvard, 3,999 to 3,720, and there are high hopes for a repeat victory during the 2014 challenge prior to this year’s match up.
  • In spring 2014, hundreds of Yale College volunteers reached out to their classmates during the eleven-day Bulldog Blitz campaign. Urging broad participation, one anonymous donor pledged a challenge gift of $100,000 if volunteers secured 1,000 donors. The final result was a record-breaking 2,865 gifts and pledge payments to the Alumni Fund totaling over $1.2 million.

Students take up the baton
Students were similarly enthusiastic in showing their support for Yale:

  • In November 2013, students celebrated the generosity of donors by participating in the third annual Elihu Day. Visiting stations at Yale College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the schools of Management, Divinity, Medicine, Music, Nursing, and Public Health, students signed over 1,000 personal thank-you cards, which were sent to a cross-section of annual donors. Many students also participated in a video thank-you message for supporters of the university. Elihu Day 2014 took place on October 15.
  • The Yale College Class of 2014 displayed its school spirit through its Senior Class Gift campaign, achieving a participation rate of 96.6 percent and raising $33,387. Combined with challenge gifts from alumni and parents, the seniors’ gift brought a total of $308,000 to Yale.
  • Many of the professional schools also conduct graduating class gift campaigns. Highlights this year included a participation rate of 96.7 percent for the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and the first-ever graduating class gift to the School of Public Health.

Leadership annual giving

Level

Donors

Nathan Hale Leaders Circle  
   Fourth Century Associates ($50,000 or more) 62
   Woodbridge Associates ($25,000–$49,999) 143
Hillhouse Associates ($15,000–$24,999) 123
Sterling Associates ($10,000–$14,999) 446
Harkness Associates ($5,000–$9,999) 892
Elihu Yale Associates ($2,500–$4,999) 1,097
Woolsey Associates ($1,000–$2,499)* 5,590

*Yale College classes up to five years following graduation qualify at $250; Yale College classes six to ten years following graduation qualify at $500.

 

Annual giving to Yale College

 

Participation

Annual Gifts

Yale College Alumni Fund 33.0% $20,253,180
Parents Annual Fund 35.1% $2,876,224

Annual giving to the graduate and professional schools

School

Participation

Annual Gifts

Architecture 22.9% $296,615
Art 11.0% $228,772
Divinity 28.6% $455,403
Drama 18.6% $361,309
Engineering & Applied Science 15.8% $113,185
Forestry & Environmental Studies 26.5% $277,720
Graduate School 14.3% $861,739
Law 38.6% $5,931,393
Management 45.2% $2,053,416
Medicine 30.1% $996,354
Music 11.1% $126,258
Nursing 22.2% $171,204
Public Health 17.1% $148,381

Yale College annual giving by class (1930–1949)

Yale College

Class

Annual Giving

Participation

Annual

Gifts

Alumni Fund

Endowment Income

1930–1939 N/A $219,186 $12,559,924
1940 46.2% $26,560 $893,618
1941 37.9% $17,451 $521,831
1942 49.3% $52,210 $648,068
1943 44.2% $21,640 $1,280,891
1944 48.4% $66,329 $2,026,074
1945 45.5% $48,954 $261,045
1945W 51.0% $112,564 $320,637
1946 27.1% $22,505 $93,512
1947 43.1% $44,266 $58,507
1948 31.3% $68,394 $160,528
1949 55.2% $212,092 $182,658

Yale College annual giving by class (1950–1969)

Yale College

Class

Annual Giving

Participation

Annual

Gifts

Alumni Fund

Endowment Income

1950 46.5% $190,304 $272,314
1951 75.8% $195,130 $179,822
1952 84.5% $259,738 $164,042
1953 51.6% $268,674 $140,957
1954 64.1% $399,066 $528,545
1955 54.8% $268,605 $162,447
1956 49.6% $272,858 $260,369
1957 63.2% $357,402 $221,965
1958 55.2% $266,814 $223,315
1959 52.1% $900,812 $216,752
1960 41.3% $341,240 $201,201
1961 47.8% $211,800 $161,623
1962 43.2% $345,794 $27,506
1963 48.5% $399,723 $103,825
1964 48.6% $731,303 $199,326
1965 39.2% $283,090 $37,308
1966 60.6% $441,008 $36,464
1967 35.5% $254,509 $66,063
1968 35.7% $310,873 $45,986
1969 38.8% $583,727 $26,481

Yale College annual giving by class (1970–1979)

Yale College

Class

Annual Giving

Participation

Annual

Gifts

Alumni Fund

Endowment Income

1970 30.1% $190,465 $24,609
1971 34.2% $237,968 $40,640
1972 29.9% $281,033 $3,637
1973 27.4% $275,646 $36,124
1974 30.5% $451,297 $5,276
1975 26.5% $281,096 $24,020
1976 28.3% $287,561 $24,185
1977 26.9% $284,108 $2,028
1978 25.2% $418,329 $5,086
1979 29.4% $421,308 $702

Yale College annual giving by class (1980–1989)

Yale College

Class

Annual Giving

Participation

Annual

Gifts

Alumni Fund

Endowment Income

1980 25.2% $640,237 $7,023
1981 26.8% $409,191 $5,043
1982 25.8% $509,165 $956
1983 25.3% $377,898 $174
1984 31.4% $682,237 $56,014
1985 40.7% $724,068 $2,786
1986 28.1% $478,096 $189,461
1987 27.6% $452,785 $572
1988 25.0% $422,635 $599
1989 38.1% $638,300 $17

Yale College annual giving by class (1990–1999)

Yale College

Class

Annual Giving

Participation

Annual

Gifts

Alumni Fund

Endowment Income

1990 30.3% $289,098 $1,758
1991 27.4% $293,150 $94
1992 25.8% $259,075 $1,063
1993 24.4% $228,218 $39,365
1994 32.7% $422,180 $71
1995 23.8% $238,880 $34
1996 24.0% $225,842 $51
1997 25.7% $137,211 $115
1998 23.4% $168,339 $24
1999 23.9% $324,789 $50

Yale College annual giving by class (2000–2014)

Yale College

Class

Annual Giving

Participation

Annual

Gifts

Alumni Fund

Endowment Income

2000 23.0% $133,111 $33
2001 21.9% $122,204 $0
2002 21.2% $82,778 $0
2003 23.2% $102,537 $0
2004 27.0% $158,966 $0
2005 21.0% $63,461 $0
2006 23.0% $46,390 $0
2007 24.3% $64,811 $0
2008 23.2% $44,475 $0
2009 28.5% $46,765 $0
2010 23.6% $26,240 $0
2011 25.3% $20,488 $0
2012 29.5% $24,937 $0
2013 26.4% $16,108 $0
2014 96.6% $34,712 $0