The Annual Fund, which consists of unrestricted gifts to the College made by alumni, parents and friends of the College, directly supports the College's annual operating budget. "[E]verything that students experience on a daily basis is in some small way impacted by the [Annual Fund]," said Bill Barlow, director of development at the College.
President Anthony Marx said that the Annual Fund supports the continually increasing budget of the College. "The donations are a way to meet our current need while we gather momentum for our planning process and the big push ahead of where we are headed for the next generation," he said.
The Annual Fund comprises the Alumni Fund, which had 63 percent of alumni participating, and the Parents' Fund. The Alumni Fund raised just under $7.3 million with an average of $630 donated per alum, while the Parents' Fund raised $584,000.
The Annual Fund raises money through various methods, including direct mailings and phonathons. "We do one phonathon in the fall when student callers simply thank people for their support in the previous year, and we have other phonathons to encourage new gifts at the end of the calendar year and in the spring before the close of the fiscal year," said Barlow.
Alumni, parents and friends can also contribute to the Annual Fund via online donation. There was a 30 percent increase in the number of donors who decided to give online, resulting in over 2,000 gifts received online last year.
Most important to the Annual Fund is a network of alumni volunteers. According to Barlow, each class has a class agent and a series of associate agents who encourage donations from classmates. "They make phone calls, write notes, send e-mails and work very hard on behalf of the College to encourage their classmates to make gifts," said Barlow. "I would say the critical piece to all of this is the team of 1,300 alumni volunteers."
Marx agreed. "I think we have extraordinary leadership, especially among our alumni," he said. "I know of a class agent who would not be satisfied with anything less than 100 percent participation by his classmates. He had one alum who [did not] want to give even $1 to get to 100 percent, and the agent went to the guy's farm and camped out and explained what Amherst is and what it means, and eventually the guy made the donation. You can't buy that kind of engagement."
Large donations made by reunion classes also contributed to the record amount. Members of the class of 1980 raised $578,000 for their 25th reunion. "That was a record; no class had ever raised more in one year for the Annual Fund," said Barlow. In addition, the class of 1955 raised over $400,000 for their 50th reunion.
The Annual Fund includes the 1821 Society, which recognizes people who make gifts of $1,821 or more. The Society encourages alumni to consider making leadership-level contributions. "We saw a significant increase in people giving at the level of $1,821 and above," said Barlow. "We had 149 more 1821 donors to the Annual Fund this year than last year. ... We hope to keep building that number in the future, since more than 70 percent of the Fund comes from gifts of $1,821 or more."
Many factors contributed to large donation numbers. "There has always been a great level of support and a record-breaking amount of participation from our alumni," said Marx. "But I think that dedication is going up yet another notch as people see some of the trends of our society and how much more important it is that Amherst can be involved."
Barlow said that the Amherst experience contributes to alumni's willingness to give. "I think all of this creates a wonderful environment, and people form very important ties and personal connections," he said.
The College also has a strong tradition of generous financial support. "My understanding is that the College continues to manage in the endowment today some of the original contributions made to the College over 180 years ago," said Barlow. "So I think there is a very strong sense of wanting to give back ... to be part of the tradition that the Annual Fund represents."