In a fundraising tour that took President Robert Brown from Beijing to Bay State Road, Boston University picked up $1.1 million in alumni donations in less than a week.
Five hundred alumni from 11 different countries pledged $1 million to the university Saturday at the inaugural meeting of China’s BU Alumni Association in Beijing, and two local alumni made a $100,000 donation to the university yesterday.
For a university that relies heavily upon tuition for its operating budget, increasing alumni donations is important to bringing more money to the school, Brown said after a ceremony yesterday at the BU Castle.
“Philanthropic giving and income from your endowment is the only major revenue stream you have to offset tuition and fees and costs of services,” he said. “Our endowment is low in comparison to some of the well-endowed universities.”
Brown traveled to Beijing to meet with alumni, said Development and Alumni Relations Vice President Scott Nichols.
“We are an international university, and we have hundreds of alumni now in the People’s Republic of China,” Nichols said. “I think they knew it was a very generous and dramatic amount, and I think they wanted to make a very strong gesture to the university that they’re very loyal and very committed alumni.”
The money raised from the Chinese Alumni Association is meant to fund BU initiatives with China, including financial aid to Chinese students, faculty and exchange programs, Nichols said. International students are not eligible for financial aid.
“It’s a wonderfully flexible gift,” Nichols said.
In addition to funds raised abroad, Brown announced yesterday that two alumni made a $100,000 donation to the general university support fund through the 2008 Class Gift Campaign, which asks seniors to donate a minimum of $20.08 to their school or college, the scholarship fund or the Student Life Fund.
Division of General Education alumnus Meyer Koplow and his wife, College of Liberal Arts alumna Ellen Koplow, vowed to match every dollar the Senior Class Gift Committee aims to raise.
Presenting the check to Brown at the ceremony, the Koplows said they are “confident” the committee will meet its goal, though it has raised only $3,829 thus far.
“Ellen and I owe a great deal to Boston University,” he said told the crowd. “We very much wanted to give something back.”
A video of the Koplows presenting a check to Brown will be aired at this Saturday’s hockey game before being posted on the BU website.
“We wanted to do something to encourage students to start a tradition of giving back to the university right at the very beginning,” Koplow said before the presentation. “We thought this was a good way to do it. We’d like to see everyone else give back.”
Staff reporter Michelle Romano contributed reporting to this article.