Middlebury Fundraising Again Tops $40 Million
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury received more than $41.5 million in total philanthropic support in the 2016 fiscal year, which ended June 30. That amount represents total cash received for the endowment, capital, and current use through gifts and foundation grants, plus gifts-in-kind to the institution. It does not include pledges. This was the 7th consecutive year that giving to Middlebury exceeded $40 million.
The 2016 total reflects support from alumni, parents, and friends of Middlebury College as well as the Middlebury Language Schools, Middlebury C.V. Starr Schools Abroad, Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English, Middlebury Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences, Middlebury School of the Environment, and the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.
“We are deeply appreciative of the support we received last year,” said Middlebury President Laurie L. Patton. “The Middlebury community is steadfastly loyal and supportive and we could never achieve what we do without the generosity and backing of our alumni, parents, and friends.”
Fiscal year 2016 was the first since the completion of the successful $535 million Middlebury Initiative on June 30, 2015. In that final year of the campaign, gifts totaled $42.3 million.
“We expected and forecasted a small dip in giving in the first year following the end of an eight-year fundraising campaign, but the fact that dollars raised exceeded $40 million yet again is not just testimony to the commitment of the community, but also its confidence in President Patton’s leadership,” said Colleen Fitzpatrick, Middlebury’s vice president for advancement.
Giving to Middlebury increased in several key areas. Annual gifts, which are for current-use, grew to $21.9 million—up 22 percent from fiscal year 2015. Undergraduate alumni contributed $8.9 million of that annual-giving support, an increase of $2.4 million from last year. In total, annual giving accounted for approximately seven percent of Middlebury’s overall 2016 operating income.
The Middlebury Institute raised more than $4.2 million, in large part by growth in the number of individual donors.
Parent giving continued to perform strongly, raising more than $3 million through the participation of 38 percent of parents of undergraduate students.
The participation rate for alumni of Middlebury College dropped, something many colleges and universities experienced during the past year. In all, 43 percent of undergraduate alumni made a gift to the Middlebury during the year.
“We are seeking to learn more about the national trends and the views of our own alumni to better understand this trend in participation rates,” said Fitzpatrick. “Institutions that are experiencing similar drops in participation, even when total giving may be up, have any number of theories as to what is behind the changing patterns in giving. We will be looking at this closely with our own alumni.”