|
July 1, 2009
Dear fellow alums,
It is my great pleasure to say thank you to all who helped Middlebury reach 60 percent in alumni participation this year and claim the final $1 million from the challenge donor. And, even better, the gifts are still being counted, so we may go beyond the goal! Over the past five years of the Challenge, your committed participation helped bring in an additional $5 million from the challenge donor. These funds were put to use immediately to sustain the students, faculty and programs at Middlebury today. Reaching 60 percent in alumni participation places our alma mater in rarified air among peer institutions and clearly demonstrates that Midd alumni are a very special breed. Congratulations to all of you for setting a precedent for Middlebury, and thank you for your continued support of our College. With great pride, Bobo Sideli ’77
Chair, Annual Fund Executive Committee
|
About the Participation Challenge
In 2004, Middlebury’s alumni giving rate hovered at 50 percent, where it had been for some years. One Middlebury supporter thought it an anomaly. This supporter made an anonymous, $5 million challenge to Midd alumni: If they could increase the alumni giving rate each year for the following five years, the College would receive an additional $1 million per year. The donor believed in the power of alumni participation, and wanted to be sure alumni knew the important role they play in keeping the College a leader in the liberal arts. The donor’s overriding goal was to draw attention to the importance of the Annual Fund and thereby convince alumni of the importance of giving at whatever level they could, every year.
Why alumni giving is important
The Alumni Fund supports every student, professor, program, and department on campus. Thanks to the challenge, Middlebury has benefited from a larger group of alumni donors than ever before — 60 percent for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008 — and has secured an additional million dollars for each of the past four years. The goal for 2008-2009 is to sustain 60 percent.
Alumni giving is a tradition and a responsibility. Every generation of Middlebury students has benefited from the generosity of those alumni who came before them. The alumni participation challenge helps to ensure the tradition continues today.
Here are just a few of the ways the participation challenge funds are supporting the College:
- More financial aid for exceptional students.
- Expanded student-faculty research opportunities.
- Advances in environmental stewardship and leadership.
- More programs in critical languages.
- Opportunities for student-organized symposia.
Why Middlebury, when there are so many deserving causes?
The anonymous donor of the participation challenge was impressed with how many Middlebury alumni felt grateful for the understanding, skills, and advantages they gained through their educations, and for how the College had prepared them for meaningful careers and community leadership. They had benefited, as do all current students, from Middlebury’s unique ability to teach the liberal arts with a global focus: Our language schools, schools abroad, graduate schools such as Bread Loaf and Monterey Institute of International Studies, our environmental studies program — the oldest and best in the nation — together create a liberal arts education like no other.
Our students learn how to research and write, how to think analytically and act ethically. These are people who invent solutions, who found and lead organizations that address major world issues such as poverty, environmental degradation, energy needs, global health, education, and cultural conflict.
When you give to Middlebury, you are investing in the future. Your gift helps teach exceptional people how to understand the world and contribute to it.