[M.K. Thompson] To donate or not to donate

Whether or not to donate to your university or any other group is a deeply personal decision and is strongly dependent on your relationship with and opinion of the organization. But there are some good reasons to consider donating to your alma mater.

The most compelling reason is that tuition at most universities covers only a small portion of operating expenses. Testimony at a U.S. Senate hearing in 2000 stated that tuition and fees accounted for only 19 percent of total revenue in 1995-96 for public colleges and 41 percent for private, non-profit colleges. The rest of the funds come from other sources including endowment investment returns, new donations and research grants. Updating, repairing or rebuilding old infrastructure and equipment and new construction often require additional private support. Without donations and external support, most universities could not survive.

Most universities and organizations do their best to make the donation process as easy, personal and flexible as possible. You can often designate how your gift or donation will be used and there are many types of gifts (money, stock, real estate or other assets) which can be accepted. Many gifts have tax benefits and are their own financial reward.

The donation you make can be a lasting gift or make an immediate improvement. The full amount of expendable donations can be used immediately for things like new sports equipment or new books for the university library. Endowed donations invest the principal and spend the interest or return from the investment to support scholarships, fellowships and other current and future activities.

Giving to your university is a great way to give thanks for all of the benefits that you received as a student and the success that you have found in life. It is also a great way to stay connected and feel involved in the university. As students, most individuals don`t have enough money to contribute to the finances of the school, the department or student groups. So they contribute their time and effort. In comparison, alumni are scattered across the world with little time or access to campus and its activities. Instead, they can contribute financial resources to support the same departments or student groups that they loved as students and ensure that current students can enjoy the same benefits that they received.

Donations can be used to honor or remember people that you love or respect. One of my mentors at MIT recently received an endowed, named scholarship from his wife and former students. His legacy will support a summer program that helps talented but disadvantaged students explore careers in science and engineering.

Endowed gifts are not limited to the rich and famous. In January 2005, a group of graduate resident tutors (graduate student mentors who live in the undergraduate dorms) created a new undergraduate scholarship to honor the memory of Big Jimmy, an MIT dormitory night watchman. Every night for 20 years, Jimmy walked the halls of two undergraduate dormitories. He talked to the students, brought them snacks, listened to their fears, hopes and dreams, and offered support. His simple acts of kindness made a profound difference in the lives of his students. After his death, dozens of undergraduate students, graduate students and alumni worked together to honor his memory and to ensure that his scholarship would be sustainable.

In addition to private donations, the proceeds from dormitory calendar sales, t-shirt sales and even pinball machine revenues went to the scholarship fund. The fund reached its first major milestone in 2007 and is already awarding partial scholarships. It`s never too early to get involved in fundraising efforts that you feel strongly about. No donation is too small to make a difference.

Giving to your university is a way to be an agent of change. You can use your gift to support new initiatives or draw attention to areas of the university that need improvement. You can help renovate the old dormitory that you lived in. You can help to build a new university medical center. You can support undergraduate travel to research conferences that you were unable to attend. If you don`t have any ideas for the designation of your gift, ask your alumni relations office for suggestions. Your university should have a list of current priorities for you to consider.

Finally, giving to your university is an investment in the future. At any university, your donation will help individual students and individual programs. But if you`re donating to a world-class research institution, you`re also investing in the institution, the country, and the world. The kinds of revolutionary ideas, discoveries and technologies which are born in places like KAIST and MIT make history and improve our daily lives. Alumni support helps make that possible.





Mary Kathryn Thompson, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. She can be reached at mkthompson@an.kaist.ac.kr. - Ed.