Economic slide could mean decrease in donations

When the going gets tough, the tough may get prudent.

A plummeting stock market and interest rates influence the financial decisions of millions of Americans on a daily basis. When money is at a premium, non-essential expenditures could take a back seat to more prioritized ventures.

Despite the economic prosperity of the last decade and President George Bush promising a trillion-dollar tax cut, the present and expected economic state of the nation — complete with stock markets collapses and slowing growth — has many colleges and universities nationwide concerned with the potential correlation between Bush’s financial moves and alumni donations.

Boston University, however, remains optimistic for their fundraising future. “We’re not seeing it right now. We are getting great results,” said Vice President for Development and Aluumni Relations Chris Reesk.

In 1995, the donation growth rate was flat, according to Reesk. However, donations have been growing for the last five years with a growth rate of 15 percent per year. That figure, he said, is compiled of University donations given in several forms, such as stocks and estate gifts, which include charitable remainder trust and bequest intentions.

Last year, Boston University received $73.4 million in donations — including gifts from corporations, foundations, parents, friends and alumni — virtually double the total income from the previous year. Of the total accumulation, slightly over $10 million came from alumni donations alone.

So far this year, there has been a total of $22,000 in gifts given by alumni. The University’s donation goal for this year is $85 million, and has set its goal for the 2002 school year at $100 million.

There are many things to consider when evaluating the nature of donations in times of a slowing economy; individuals have different interests. In fact, an unpredictable future could even possibly increase the numbers of gifts of stock, for example, enticing those who would want to lock in appreciation securities.

“We have substantially more stock gifts year-to-date this year, than three or four years ago,” said Director of Major gifts and Estate planning Mary Tambiah. Other areas of donations are running smoothly as well. The estate distributing given to BU year-to-date was just under $4 million, as compared to the $4.4 million total last year.

“We are ahead of last year; we have very ambitious goals … it shows the solidity of the developmental program,” said Tambiah.

One crucial factor regarding donations is alumni pride, which influences BU grads to contribute back to the school that trained them for the real world. But in addition to alumni backing, individuals who didn’t attend the University are also making contributions to the university. “People want to support BU even if they did not go here,” Reesk said.

Current BU students, as prospective alumni, also play a key role in donations and fundraising.

“Students here can start thinking of themselves as future alumni; if they could take an interest of what is going on around campus, they should anticipate the day when they could make contributions,” Reesk said.

Administrators maintain they expect positive results in the future of BU alumni donations, despite projections of a slowing economy.

“There has been a lot written that non-profit organizations are experiencing some sort of scaling-down,” Reesk said. “It is a tough period in terms of fundraising, but you have to keep [donators] focused that BU is a priority … and most people are responding well.”