Every dollar counts, parent says

As a parent of a current RIT student, I enjoy reading about what’s happening on campus through The University Magazine. I started reading the Fall 2013 issue, and stopped at Page 2. What caught my eye was the Development Office’s ad.

I read the numbers on giving and I was like, “Really? That’s all?” Honestly, I was amazed that only 6,781 alumni out of over 111,000 give annually—6 percent. Then I go on to read they encourage even small donations, like $5, and it was déjà vu for me. I did not go to RIT, but to a small liberal arts college, and this was something I also would tell my classmates when I was doing giving 30-ish years ago.

Everyone thinks that they have to make a huge gift to make a difference, and that’s not true. Every dollar counts. If every one of those 104,000 left gave just $5, that’s another half a million in RIT’s coffers. More scholarship money. More campus enhancements. More visiting professors. More abroad opportunities. And more than that, the numbers that give to a university impact corporate giving to the university.

Corporations and foundations that are looking at investing in higher education really do want to know that the alumni support their school. So whether you give $5; $5,000; or $5,000,000, just the fact that you gave is important.


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