Simply Smashing! W&M alumni break the record

Amazing record William & Mary’s one-year record for alumni donor participation was 13,451. As of June 30, the one-year record now stands at more than 13,600, and counting.

by John Wallace, University Development | July 1, 2011

The College’s alumni achieved a milestone for William & Mary on Thursday, June 30, by exceeding the all-time record for giving participation. The previous record of undergraduate alumni who gave to William & Mary during a single fiscal year was 13,451. As of July 1 that total stands at 13,664, with gifts still being processed for fiscal year 2011, which ended June 30.

“William & Mary’s alumni are setting the stage for us to achieve the sustained higher levels of annual giving we know are essential to the future of the College,” said Rector Jeffrey B. Trammell ’73.

William & Mary exceeded the record despite a current nationwide climate that has seen participation rates trending downward and classes from the most recent decade participating at lower rates.

The College tapped into social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter, and word-of-mouth communications in addition to traditional means to encourage alumni to give.

On the College’s “Beat the Record” Facebook page, alumni can take a William & Mary personality quiz, developed by the Fund for William & Mary Board’s Young Alumni Taskforce.

Although William & Mary is a state institution, only about 12 percent of the College’s operating budget comes from the state’s general fund. The remainder comes from students and their families via tuition and fees, grants for research and other non-state sources such as private donations and endowment gifts. Uses for unrestricted annual gifts can vary from year to year, but in the past they have included financial aid, faculty support, student research and the Alumni Association.