Annual Giving through
the Yale Alumni Fund
In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, the Yale Alumni Fund raised almost $32 million from over 50,000 donors. The University would need an additional $640 million in unrestricted endowment funds to equal this essential support. Alumni and parent volunteers are integral to these fundraising efforts. Alumni and parent volunteers are integral to these fundraising efforts.
What do these gifts support?
Annual giving to Yale through the Alumni Fund's annual appeal provides current and immediately expendable support for the University's basic operations. Leadership gifts are recognized by the Nathan Hale Associates Program. Gifts to the Alumni Fund count toward the reunion gift.
Why participate in annual giving through the Alumni Fund?
Alumni Fund gifts support Yale's core needs. From financial aid, to teaching and research, to facilities maintenance, your generosity can touch every aspect of Yale College. In fact, the value of your contribution can be doubled by your employer through matching gift programs.
Sustain excellence
To attract and retain the most promising students, it is imperative to provide the best education possible. Alumni Fund gifts have an impact on the quality of Yale teaching and on improvements to campus facilities.
Supplement the Yale endowment
Annual gifts of any size enhance Yale's ability to provide for its students. Each dollar of unrestricted, current use funding has the equivalent immediate effect of income generated by $20 of endowment funds.
Subsidize financial aid
Annual gifts to the Alumni Fund help provide financial aid for current students. In fact, the education of all Yale graduates has been partially subsidized by the generosity of prior graduates. Today, this giving makes a tremendous impact in helping to defray the cost of a Yale education, which for each student is almost double the price of tuition. Giving to the Alumni Fund is our opportunity to continue this tradition.
Show your support
Annual giving is an important measure of alumni attitudes toward the University. You can even make your gift In Honor or In Memory of someone dear to you (learn more).
If you and your spouse are both Yale College graduates, you can make your gift together. If you elect to make your annual gifts together, you can still choose how to divide the dollar amount and multiple designations. To sign up for Alumni Fund mailings specifically for couples from Yale, please print this PDF and fax it to the number indicated on the form. For further information, please contact Gloria Caprio at (203) 432-5859.
By participating in the cycle of regular alumni contributions, you are showing your support for Yale and its uncompromising standards. Increased participation statistics also figure prominently in the way Yale is evaluated by corporate and foundation donors. Instilling the tradition of giving to Yale each year is begun during Senior year through the Senior Class Gift.
The Nathan Hale Associates
Leadership Recognition Levels for Unrestricted Current Use Annual Giving
What is the Nathan Hale Associates program?
The Nathan Hale Associates program, currently led by Joseph McNay '56 as Chairman, was founded in 1994 to encourage and recognize increased Alumni Fund contributions. The program is the University's way of acknowledging the many alumni and friends whose most generous gifts have helped nurture the dynamic, creative environment that is integral to the Yale experience.
For more information, e-mail karri.brady@yale.edu
Why join the Nathan Hale Associates?
Uphold the Yale tradition of giving
The Nathan Hale Associates join a proud tradition at Yale, almost 300 years old, representing a distinguished group of contributors willing to support and encourage excellence.
Set an example
Participants in the Nathan Hale Associates program are acknowledged in Yale publications. Their leadership serves to inspire the efforts of all at Yale to provide the very best opportunities in higher education.
All alumni and friends are invited to join the Nathan Hale Associates in the following giving categories:
| President's Council | |
| • Fourth Century Circle | $50,000 and above |
| • Woodbridge Circle | $25,000 – $49,999 |
| Hillhouse Associates | $15,000 – $24,999 |
| Sterling Associates | $10,000 – $14,999 |
| Harkness Associates | $5,000 – $9,999 |
| Elihu Yale Associates | $2,500 – $4,999 |
| Woolsey Associates | $1,000 – $2,499* |
| *Yale College classes up to five years following graduation qualify at $250; Yale College classes six to ten years following graduation qualify at $500. | |
Who was Nathan Hale?
A member of Yale College's graduating Class of 1773, Nathan Hale served as a Revolutionary soldier in Cambridge, New York, and New London and eventually volunteered to be a spy under General Washington's direction.
Disguised as a schoolmaster, he found his way into the British camps in Brooklyn and New York. He was recognized while attempting to return and arrested. His papers were found in his shoes — among them his Yale diploma. Before being executed on September 22, 1776, his last words were: "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."
Matching Gifts
Increase your contribution at no additional cost to you!
Many employers give generously to non-profit educational institutions by matching employees charitable contributions. If you or your spouse work for a company that matches gifts, you may be able to increase your support of Yale. You will be recognized for the total amount contributed‹your gift and the corporate match. The match also counts toward your eligibility for Nathan Hale Associates recognition. Please contact your human resources department for more information.
Click here to find out if your company matches gifts to Yale.
In Memory of and In Honor of
Recognizing Friends or Family Through ‘In Memory of’, or ‘In Honor of’ Gifts
Another way to support the Alumni Fund is to make a gift “In Memory of” or “In Honor of” a fellow classmate or family member.
To find out more, please contact Diane Nelson at (203) 432-3932 or diane.nelson@yale.edu.
How is this gift different from the other contributions I make to Yale?
Reunion Gifts
Reunions at Yale are an opportunity to acknowledge your appreciation for both your Yale experience as a student and your relationship with the University over the years. Fundraising is an important part of the reunion tradition, when classmates stretch to make gifts above and beyond their ongoing annual giving to the Alumni Fund. Many make special larger-than-usual annual contributions to mark the reunion; some choose a multi-year unrestricted pledge to the Alumni Fund; and others make their usual annual gift plus a special contribution restricted to a purpose that matches their interests with Yale's needs. All of these gifts count toward the reunion gift campaign.
For more information, e-mail reunion.giving@yale.edu
Class Dues
Class dues are contributions to the class and fund the class's activities and communications and pay for the class's subscription to the Yale Alumni Magazine.
Association Gifts
Organizations with which you were involved as a student often solicit alumni for contributions. Examples include the Football Y Association and the Glee Club. These gifts help organizations fund their activities.
Other Special Appeals
From time to time, Professional Schools, classes, residential colleges, associations, and other groups will organize special appeals for a particular purpose. Sometimes the gifts collected establish a fund in memory or in honor of a well-loved fellow graduate or a prominent University figure. The targeted nature of such appeals distinguishes them from annual gifts.
Graduates with More Than One Yale Degree or Affiliation
Those who hold degrees from the Graduate School and/or the Professional Schools in addition to their Yale College degrees may receive solicitations for annual and special campaign or reunion gifts from each of the constituencies with which they were affiliated.
Quarter-Century Fund/Half-Century Fund
Gifts to the Quarter-Century Funds (Classes of 1996 and earlier) and Half-Century Funds are contributions made in anticipation of the Yale College 25th and 50th class reunions. Contributions are invested as part of the Yale Endowment. All contributions and interest income are credited to these major reunions' gift totals.
For details, e-mail alumni.fund@yale.edu
If you would like to make a gift to or volunteer for the Yale Alumni Fund, please contact:
Yale Alumni Fund
P.O. Box 1890
New Haven, CT 06508-1890
Phone: (800) 395-7646
E-mail: alumni.fund@yale.edu
