Philanthropy Starts Early with Graduating Class of 2014 Gifts

One of the business school rites of spring, in the US mainly but not exclusively, is the class gift, when new MBA graduates are asked to “pay it forward” and contribute to their alma maters. The tallies are just starting to come in, and at some schools they’re quite impressive.

The University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business Class of 2014 raised US$241,286 from all b-school programs, a new record. The class gift is part of a US$5 million annual fund, which represents Darden’s fourth consecutive record and a 9% increase over last year’s haul.

In all, 99% of the graduating class gave to the class gift. The full-time MBA program raised US$133,600, with an average pledge of US$431, a 15% increase over last year, while the executive MBA program raised US$83,950, with a record-breaking average pledge of US$1,163. The Global MBA for Executives brought in an additional US$23,786.

Of the 57 graduating classes since the school was founded in 1955, 15 classes reached or surpassed 50% participation.

The annual fund, including the class gift, is unrestricted and will be used for merit-based scholarships, research, global program development and curriculum innovation.

“We are humbled by the outpouring of donations, which is a testament to our supporters’ devotion to Darden and its mission,” said the school’s dean, Bob Bruner. “Because of them the school is able to continue developing and inspiring responsible leaders and advancing knowledge.”

MIT Sloan joins Darden in drumming up high MBA class gift figures

At MIT Sloan School of Management, the MBA Class of 2014 (including MBA/Leaders for Global Operations, a joint degree program with the MIT engineering school) raised a record-breaking US$311,164 in cash and pledges.  93% of the class contributed, shattering the 89% record held by the Class of 2011.

“We really wanted to set the standard going forward for other classes to come,” said John Ghirardelli, a 2014 MBA graduate and one of three class gift co-chairs. “Not only to challenge our class, but to challenge the alumni, challenge the classes behind us, and really challenge the students who would eventually enroll in MIT Sloan so they knew from day one that philanthropy and giving back is part of the DNA of this place, and that everybody is a stakeholder.”

MIT Sloan’s executive MBA program raised a record US$433,459. For the second consecutive year every member of the graduating class participated in the gift—as did every member of the executive MBA class of 2015, a first for the school. Smaller amounts were raised by the MIT Sloan Fellows Program in Innovation and Global Leadership (US$18,000, 7% participation); Master of Finance program (US$8,408, 44% participation); and MS in Management Studies (US$2,630, 77% participation).

At Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business, the MBA Class of 2014 raised nearly US$32,165 in cash, breaking the previous record of US$23,000 set in 2013. The money is earmarked for the new David A. Tepper Quadrangle and a 295,000-square-foot building that will be the business school’s new home in 2018.

213 donors contributed to this year’s graduating class gift, for a 99.5% participation rate, easily surpassing the previous record of 84% set in 2013. One anonymous donor pledged US$10,000 if the class achieved 75% participation by March 14 and 90% by graduation, which it did. With just four holdouts refusing to contribute, another anonymous donor came forth and pledged US$1,000 for each of the four if they changed their minds, and another US$1,000 if all four did. In the end, three of the holdouts made contributions, leaving just one person who didn’t make a gift.

The MBA class of 2014 gift at the Yale School of Management closed at US$329,685, with 83% of the class participating. The amount is down about 2% from 2013, when 97% of the class participated. The executive MBA campaign raised US$64,524, up 35% from last year, with 100% of the class once again participating.

To date, class of 2014 gift at Wharton totals US$28,043 from the full-time MBA program, with 80% participation; US$165,026 for the Philadelphia EMBA program, with 100% participation; and US$109,963 for the San Francisco EMBA program, with 97% participation.

At Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, the full-time MBA program raised US$30,627, with 94% participation, while the Global Executive MBA program raised US$19,910, with 64% participation.