Hey "KnightLight" do you know what/where you read that you need to donate $25 dollars to be counted as a donor. Because I have a couple buddies who are on the verge of donating and I would like to show them that if they just can donate even $25 then they will be making a difference.
8 Percent of alumni give to Rutgers
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Hey "KnightLight" do you know what/where you read that you need to donate $25 dollars to be counted as a donor. Because I have a couple buddies who are on the verge of donating and I would like to show them that if they just can donate even $25 then they will be making a difference.
http://magazine.rutgers.edu/features/playing-the-percentages
NOTE: RU, and every other Univ, will take donations of any amount ($1, $5, $10, etc...), but for US News & World Report Univ Rankings,(which continue to carry a lot of weight) they only count a minimum of $25 per year to be official counted as a donor.
Skip 5 of these per year and become an RU Donor Today!
The problem with these threads is that they perpetuate the image that Rutgers is woefully behind in alumni giving percentages. The reality is that Rutgers is in line with many of its peers. The public institutions that have 10% or more giving rates are the exception and some of them merely game the numbers to look better.
So yes Rutgers can and should do better but all this talk about the negatives of Rutgers as a reason we are so "bad" are misplaced. We don't have a poor alumni giving rate. We just don't have an outstanding one.
And the reality is that an extra 10,000 people that give $25 aren't going to the move the needle in terms of the quality of the school. Every dollar helps but with a finite set of resources Rutgers should and is focused on high dollar contributions not worrying about percentages.
So yes Rutgers can and should do better but all this talk about the negatives of Rutgers as a reason we are so "bad" are misplaced. We don't have a poor alumni giving rate. We just don't have an outstanding one.
And the reality is that an extra 10,000 people that give $25 aren't going to the move the needle in terms of the quality of the school. Every dollar helps but with a finite set of resources Rutgers should and is focused on high dollar contributions not worrying about percentages.
I got the mailer last month asking that I contribute $9 per month or $25 annually with the tag line that the $9 a month can send a student to an academic conference or something like that and that making a donation can help Rutgers increase it's alumni donation rates. I like that RU is going after the microdonations as much as the big donors.
One school that implemented the microdonation strategy for athletics to great success is Clemson though it's IPTAY fundraising arm. Frank Howard knew that back in the day many Clemson supporters were not flush with cash, so he started a fundraising program where all donors had to do was contribute $10 annually. IPTAY stand for "I Pay Ten A Year".
When I was tere we had something similar to the current computer system, but over the phone. So everyone would wake up at 6 AM or whenever the new day started and you would just repeat dial the number over and over until you got something other than a busy signal.
Also, in general you can get into classes if you want to by talking to the professor and getting a waiver of some sort. Kind of a pain in the ass, but if it was a choice of spending $20,000 extra, or taking a day to s
Why is a lottery any better than the current system of basing it on credit hours?
I didn't realize it was based on credit hours. It certainly shouldn't be based on the time one registered. A lottery would make sense if needed to break ties between students with the same number of credits, something that I would think happens with some regularity. Is this done already?
Rutgers helped me be successful, and hence, I give back. I've talked to many alums who graduated when I did and almost apologize for having gone to Rutgers and never give back. A few who have kids looking at colleges laugh at me when I suggest discussing looking at Rutgers (understanding this is a kid's decision and all parent can do is suggest, but these parents won't even do that). Of course, you can guess what they donate back to the alma mater.
Where do u think high dollar donors come from? (Univ and Athletics)
Hint: Many started out years and years or decades ago as small donors.
You cant cultivate even small donors unless they give which is why adding new donors at level is so important to any fundraising organization.
I doubt it. At least when I was there, it was first come first serve, which to me is really no better or worse than a lottery.
Its probably alot easier to do so in a law school with 800 people in a couple of dozen classes, vs 30,000 in hundreds of classes.
And heres why.
lets say I register for class A in the lottery system. Its full. But I have to wait until this lottery occurs to move on. Now I register for another class. But thats full too. So another lottery. Now me, or someone else is out, and another lottery. And on and on. Even if you had some kind of automatic loterry and notification system, it could takes days or weeks to sort out everyones schedule.
In the first come first serve system, you know immediately whther the class is full and move on to plan B (in fact if you are prepared you have plan B in place for classes that you think might be full.) That might be a different instance of the same class, or a different class altogether.
And as I said, you can always backdoor your way in if you really need to. Worst case, you wait until the class starts and people drop it and you jump in then.
Basically, its a matter of scale. It works in a small school setting where most students are locked into most of their classes anyway (my understanding is that the first year or two of law school is basically the same for everyone, is that not the case?) Whereas at RU undergrad, its rare that two students, even in the same major and class and campus have the exact same schedule.
Knight_Light - sometimes thats true, sometimes not. It would be interesting to see in fact what the correlation is between being long term small donations and big donations. Im guessing its high, but not as high as you think.
Yes people do have different experiences hence why I gave mine and my OPINION. But I am sorry that it bothered you so much. Not once did I say I spoke for the entire student body. In fact let me make this clear to you, I DO NOT SPEAK FOR ANY OF THE STUDENT BODY. I speak for myself and my experience with the GREAT COLLEGE I wanted to attend like my father did even though I was an good student, could have afforded any school in the B1G, and had the grades to get in. I chose to go to the same school a grew up rooting for, used the intelligence I had, used the planning my parents taught me, and got out a semester early. I certainly know that 3 1/2 years is not even close to the norm. But to say 5 years is the norm because Rutgers is trying to screw over parents and students is crazy. With the amount of crap press we get in the Star Liar, I would think a story like this would have been written. Once again I am sorry if my opinion and experience is something that offends you. In fact I have a great idea. Since Rutgers is such a horrible institution that screws parents, students, athletes, the state funds, and the people of NJ, why don't you stop supporting it via this forum and go find a better institution to but your time and energy into. Clearly my alma mater is not worthy of you.
Surprised nobody addressed this when someone (maybe you?) brought it up earlier in this thread. It's funny that in this thread and the one about upper middle class people debate and opine for four pages without thinking about whether what they're debating really matters. If we're in line with other universities, it's incredibly pointless spending so much breath trying to explain our donor percentage. And who really cares if we get a lot of upper class kids?
Assuming you're correct in your numbers, it would seem that donating back to college is a fairly rare exception, not a rule, probably because students pay a ton of money for college and don't feel like they owe it anything, unless maybe they made it super big thanks directly to school or had a metric ton of school pride.
How about a Alumni Club Lounge at MSG? While I don't think we'll ever compete with Harvard & Yale Club, I think many of us could use a place to:
"Meet you at The Scarlet R Lounge."
That would be an awesome.
- Use a clean bathroom
- Freshen up, shower, shave, etc.
- Sit in a comfy spot
- Charge electronic devices
- Temporarily store book bags/briefcases
- Free wi-fi
- Have a (discounted) drink or two
- Catch the game on TV with fellow alumni
- Signature "Fat" sandwiches on the menu
- Flying Fish on tap (Exit 9)
- Concierge service for first-timers and out-of-towners who can print maps, provide tips, and point out discounts that your membership makes you eligible for all around the city
"Meet you at The Scarlet R Lounge."
That would be an awesome.
Derleider, you make good arguments but what I'm told often happens is that the Rutgers servers crash as students race to register. So the race goes not to the person who registered the first, but to whomever is lucky enough to register at a moment when the server isn't crashed. That doesn't seem like a very good system.
If Rutgers engaged alumni in their careers they would Create a better connection. What if RU was a resource for your career?
Example: How about a 1 page newsletter on what thecollegeofengineering is up to. IN PLAIN ENGLISH ( not differential equations). The same goes for each college. Issue it every semester.
Professors should be required to explain their work so a 10th grader can understand it and it's potential application in society. This is something I would read. In fact this is something I would subscribe with an additional donation. I've read the gibberish put out by professors.
If they dont have the communication skills, hire a writer that can boil down their work into something the masses can understand.
This is one area I think other schools do much better than RU.
Example: How about a 1 page newsletter on what thecollegeofengineering is up to. IN PLAIN ENGLISH ( not differential equations). The same goes for each college. Issue it every semester.
Professors should be required to explain their work so a 10th grader can understand it and it's potential application in society. This is something I would read. In fact this is something I would subscribe with an additional donation. I've read the gibberish put out by professors.
If they dont have the communication skills, hire a writer that can boil down their work into something the masses can understand.
This is one area I think other schools do much better than RU.
Rutgers can do a better job of soliciting alumni via email campaigns. Below is an email the university of Miami sent out today:
Make your gift today! As you reflect upon your own experience, I hope you agree that the University of Miami has enabled you to make a difference in the world. Our ability to continue shaping the futures of the best and brightest depends on the support of our alumni.
Our fiscal year ends on May 31st, please consider making a gift today! Every single gift that the University receives will make an impact and helps us to provide much needed resources to our students and faculty.
Your generous contribution will:
We thank you in advance for investing in the current and future success of the U and helping us fulfil our ambitious goals and priorities.
Go ‘Canes!
P.S. Make a gift today and you will be able to play GoGo Shalala — Rescue Sebastian! Go to Iloveshalala.com to make a gift and leave a personal note for President Shalala.
Make your gift today! As you reflect upon your own experience, I hope you agree that the University of Miami has enabled you to make a difference in the world. Our ability to continue shaping the futures of the best and brightest depends on the support of our alumni.
Our fiscal year ends on May 31st, please consider making a gift today! Every single gift that the University receives will make an impact and helps us to provide much needed resources to our students and faculty.
Your generous contribution will:
- Enable students to have life changing experiences.
- Equip our faculty with the tools they need to provide a world-class business education.
- Ensure that deserving students have the opportunity to further their education.
We thank you in advance for investing in the current and future success of the U and helping us fulfil our ambitious goals and priorities.
Go ‘Canes!
P.S. Make a gift today and you will be able to play GoGo Shalala — Rescue Sebastian! Go to Iloveshalala.com to make a gift and leave a personal note for President Shalala.
While MSG might be prohibitive cost-wise, I think this lounge idea is an excellent idea! But of course at MSG would be incredible.. I would definitely look to attend events at MSG that's for sure!
http://magazine.rutgers.edu/features/playing-the-percentages
NOTE: RU, and every other Univ, will take donations of any amount ($1, $5, $10, etc...), but for US News & World Report Univ Rankings,(which continue to carry a lot of weight) they only count a minimum of $25 per year to be official counted as a donor.
Skip 5 of these per year and become an RU Donor Today!
Thank you for the link sir!
Let me get this straight. Since I just sold my 7 year old BMW & bought an American car, even though it was 4X the price, that makes me a poor now?
Instead of going on a rant why don't you re-read my post. I have no issues with RU and it is a great school even though I have no affiliation (well my niece just transferred to the business school in Newark in January). Kudos to you for loving and appreciating your university, that is what most universities would hope to achieve . If my daughter, who is looking at schools now chooses RU, I'm all for that. I will send my kids wherever they want to go within reason.
I never said anything about RU not being worthy or the other negative drivel in your post. Again, it was one friend's experience, not mine, so chill.
What school's would you be willing to send your kid to? And are you an NJ resident?
And let's try something here. Everybody on this board who loves Rutgers should check their budgets and find $25 to donate this year and for every year in the future! Besides making a huge difference in the quality of the school and what they can accomplish... the $25 bucks a year will raise our ranking in the USNWR which therefore raises the supposed value/prestige of our alma mater and this will benefit us at a rate of FAR greater than $25 a year in the form of better jobs and business opportunities!
So come on guys I know times can be tough... but lets all make an investment in our alma mater and essentially an investment in ourselves and donate at least $25 a year and get our rankings even higher!
P.S We have a much larger donor base than most of the other Big Ten schools so our potential donor base is one of our BIGGEST ADVANTAGES! Let's take advantage of this!
So come on guys I know times can be tough... but lets all make an investment in our alma mater and essentially an investment in ourselves and donate at least $25 a year and get our rankings even higher!
P.S We have a much larger donor base than most of the other Big Ten schools so our potential donor base is one of our BIGGEST ADVANTAGES! Let's take advantage of this!
Any school, public or private with Good ranking that has what she's looking for in terms of study, campus, etc.
I am a 20-year NJ resident.
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If she wanted to go to say Penn State... would you be willing to let her go to Penn State even though it is an extra 50-60K for their degree and is a lessor/similar ranking depending on who you ask?
The 70,000 alumni who donated to the billion dollar drive did so over the 7 year period that the campaign ran.
The 8% is an annual number. If 35,000 of the alumni to contributed to the billion dollar campaign donated in previous years, but not last year, they are not counted in last year's 8% number.
Our relevant peers are Big 10 Schools. Rutgers giving rate is at the bottom or near the bottom of the Big 10. Most notably PSU, OSU, Indiana, and Michigan have significantly higher giving rates than we do. Maryland is in the ballpark slightly higher. This is part of the reason we are ranked below these schools in US News and World Report, which provides the rationale for many of NJs best and brightest to leave.
We have to do what we can to boost our ranking and convincing our alumni to give a little seems like low hanging fruit to me.
It doesn't take a lot of resources to put together an email campaign and this is what a lot of private schools do effectively, despite limited resources.
This is from the Rutgers Dashboard Indicators. It is a few year's old, but is probably still directionally correct. (AAU Aspirants are the Cal-Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, Illinois, Michigan, UNC, UVA, Washington, & Wisconsin.)
The fact that you think raising alumni giving rates is low hanging fruit and can be accomplished with email demonstrates how little you understand the subject.
Please stick your head back in the sand. Thanks for your contribution of nothing to this thread. The fact that you think that the status quo is acceptable amply demonstrates your level of understanding of the subject.
An email effort is merely one tool in the toolbox of what should be a comprehensive strategy to boost giving rates. Thankfully I've been the target of effective fundraising efforts (Miamis) and poor ones (Rutgers) to know there is much headroom for improvement in Rutgers efforts.
Miami, once known as suntan U, is ranked #48 in the US News survey of National Universities. Rutgers is ranked #70. I can tell you that there is no way Miami should be ranked 22 places higher. But there it is , in black and white. I believe that much of the disparity is due to the fact that Miami has made a concerted effort to ensure that alumni give.
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It should be noted that while Miami's academic profile has catapulted, their football program has essentially fallen off a cliff. There's only so much money to go around and Donna Shalala has taken a lot of heat for focusing her attention on campus beautification and the medical school over the football program.
Hmm, that sounds familiar...
Hmm, that sounds familiar...
The only reason that Miami football has fallen off the cliff is the head coach. Golden has the players but he can't coach. His recruiting class has 5-6 4 stars and the rest 3 stars but they can not win. More money won't help them unless they fire the coach and hire a more expensive coach.
Golden has shown he can reel in 5-6 4-star guys in every class. But 2 won't qualify, 1 will have a disciplinary issue, and 1 or 2 won't live up to their 4-star status. That leaves Golden actually fielding 1-2 4-stars per year. And those guys typically aren't linemen.
I'd even go as far as to say that the talent profile of Miami's game day roster as a whole isn't much different from Rutgers'.
Now, I know this is just speculation but I would bet their situation would be a lot different had they chosen to 1.) renovate the Orange Bowl and 2.) went all-in and hired an A-list coach, both of which would require $$$$.
I'd even go as far as to say that the talent profile of Miami's game day roster as a whole isn't much different from Rutgers'.
Now, I know this is just speculation but I would bet their situation would be a lot different had they chosen to 1.) renovate the Orange Bowl and 2.) went all-in and hired an A-list coach, both of which would require $$$$.
My level of understanding and contributions to this thread are based on 15 years of professional fundraising experience. My head is far from the sand. You are way too focused on US News and alumni giving rates. Neither of them are reliable measures of fundraising success.
