Updated: June 10, 2015 at 10:34 a.m.
If more than 2,000 alumni pull out their checkbooks before the end of the month, so will an anonymous donor — to write a five-figure check to the University.
University officials announced a $50,000 bonus donation from an anonymous alumnus under the condition that 2,015 graduates donate this month, and experts say the extra incentive to give is likely part of a strategy to boost GW’s donation totals before the end of the fiscal year.
University spokeswoman Maralee Csellar said the donation challenge is one of the GW’s strategies “to increase alumni giving participation.” The University has historically had an alumni donation rate that is lower than its peers.
“This alumnus was willing to leverage his generous $50,000 donation as an incentive to encourage fellow alumni to give back to their alma mater,” Csellar said.
Csellar said about 14,000 alumni give back to GW annually and that the most popular times to give are in December and June.
In a short push to spur donations, the University held its first “Flag Day” in April, where officials targeted young alumni and current students to donate in a two-day fundraising event, as a way to drive in donations on a deadline.
Short fundraising blitzes can help the University’s totals because they excite donors, said Erika Bernal, the director of development at Marshall B. Ketchum University.
“They’ll do those arbitrary deadlines to create some excitement,” Bernal said. “It helps their totals at the end of year and keeps the momentum.”
The University periodically announces its fundraising totals as part of its largest-ever campaign to raise $1 billion, which has raised about $740 million so far. The campaign went public around this time last year.
And this isn’t the first time that the University has challenged donors to give with the incentive of another gift to go along with their own. In April, the Senior Class Gift Campaign announced a week-long period where seniors’ gifts would be matched up to $3,000 by an anonymous alumna.
Richard Ammons, a consultant at the fundraising firm Marts & Lundy, said that universities periodically try to leverage anonymous donors as way to encourage others to give.
But Ammons said universities shouldn’t rely too often on using bonus gifts to encourage others to donate.
“An institution doesn’t want to do this every year,” he said. “The novelty of the tool wears off.”
Ryan Lasker contributed reporting.
This post was updated to reflect the following correction:
The Hatchet incorrectly reported that the most popular times for alumni to donate to the University are December and January. Those times are actually December and June. We regret this error.
