What is the minimum $$ I can donate to alma mater and still have my kids eligible for legacy bump?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My college had an event when we graduated where they told us what mattered was giving every year. So even if it’s a 100 a year that matters.

They sold you a fantasy.

No college cares about that in admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks. I'm more worried about it from the bad slacker end. I'm less concerned about trying to "buy my kid in" or something. It's more like, if I give zippo ever, are they going to think my kid is a bad prospect or something and then my kids' application will be harmed by my lack of participation? Do I need to give a little protectively to avoid that?

No. If you gave nothing, it will not impact your kid’s admission in any way, shape or form. Unless you’re donating enough to have a wing added on somewhere on campus, the amount you give (whether it’s $0 or $100 or $1000 a year) doesn’t matter.

I used to work in university development. Donations of less than 25K are generally handled in a more automatic process. After that point you will get a human contact but again keep in mind this is a minimum threshold.

I am 2500 a year and I have a person. Now that is every year for a number of years and am biglaw partner but she meets with me at my office once or twice a year. School has multi-billion endowment.

You have a person who meets with you regularly because their data suggests that you have capacity. That + your giving history leads them to believe that there are bigger gifts possible in the future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks. I'm more worried about it from the bad slacker end. I'm less concerned about trying to "buy my kid in" or something. It's more like, if I give zippo ever, are they going to think my kid is a bad prospect or something and then my kids' application will be harmed by my lack of participation? Do I need to give a little protectively to avoid that?

No. If you gave nothing, it will not impact your kid’s admission in any way, shape or form. Unless you’re donating enough to have a wing added on somewhere on campus, the amount you give (whether it’s $0 or $100 or $1000 a year) doesn’t matter.

I used to work in university development. Donations of less than 25K are generally handled in a more automatic process. After that point you will get a human contact but again keep in mind this is a minimum threshold.

I am 2500 a year and I have a person. Now that is every year for a number of years and am biglaw partner but she meets with me at my office once or twice a year. School has multi-billion endowment.

You have a person who meets with you regularly because their data suggests that you have capacity. That + your giving history leads them to believe that there are bigger gifts possible in the future.

TRUE. I was going to say the same. They are also hoping for a mention in the will. $2500 is chump change. It’s seven figures at Harvard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks. I'm more worried about it from the bad slacker end. I'm less concerned about trying to "buy my kid in" or something. It's more like, if I give zippo ever, are they going to think my kid is a bad prospect or something and then my kids' application will be harmed by my lack of participation? Do I need to give a little protectively to avoid that?

No. If you gave nothing, it will not impact your kid’s admission in any way, shape or form. Unless you’re donating enough to have a wing added on somewhere on campus, the amount you give (whether it’s $0 or $100 or $1000 a year) doesn’t matter.

I used to work in university development. Donations of less than 25K are generally handled in a more automatic process. After that point you will get a human contact but again keep in mind this is a minimum threshold.

I am 2500 a year and I have a person. Now that is every year for a number of years and am biglaw partner but she meets with me at my office once or twice a year. School has multi-billion endowment.

You have a person who meets with you regularly because their data suggests that you have capacity. That + your giving history leads them to believe that there are bigger gifts possible in the future.

TRUE. I was going to say the same. They are also hoping for a mention in the will. $2500 is chump change. It’s seven figures at Harvard.

DP. It may be 7 figures at Harvard. Obviously, all schools are not Harvard. But people on this board consistently overestimate the amount of $$ it takes to get on the radar at the vast majority of universities (I think it’s how they rationalize not giving). Consistent giving over a long period of time is definitely recognized, 5 figure giving is notable, and 6 figures will get you a development officer that is your best friend. This is even at schools with a large endowment. Endowments are usually limited in how they can be spent, so schools are always looking for scholarship money, etc. How that translates into admission depends on the school. Some don’t consider legacy or giving at all. For others, it’s a significant finger on the scale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My college had an event when we graduated where they told us what mattered was giving every year. So even if it’s a 100 a year that matters.

Bhahahahha! And you believed it?! They track percentage of alumni contributing and your measly 100 bucks is helping them achieve their stats.
No, that’s NOT how it works.
To answer the OP, you need to donate a building, or at least a wing for anything to count.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the school and kid stats probably but I heard that about 150 grand a couple of years before they apply should do the trick.

[Anonymous]

I don't think $100/year will get you anything. Development shops use donor screening software that considers capacity but also philanthropic history, so someone who is giving $5,000 to my institution but has made really large gifts to other organizations might be a better prospect than someone who started giving $25,000 when their child entered high school but has no other philanthropic history.

[Anonymous]

$0

It may push them over the edge. You never know.

[Anonymous]

I would assume that alumni giving impact on legacy admissions totally varies school to school. A couple of thousand dollars a year for the past decade to my 70% acceptance rate, public gets me multiple calls a year and requests for in person meetings with fundraising. With that high of the acceptance rate, the impact on admissions is negligible, but despite the small amount given, it would appear the school "knows who I am".

[Anonymous]

I feel like in person meetings with fundraising would be either unpleasant or pointless. What do you even talk about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like in person meetings with fundraising would be either unpleasant or pointless. What do you even talk about?

How to best structure your giving, how their needs align with what you are interested in supporting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks. I'm more worried about it from the bad slacker end. I'm less concerned about trying to "buy my kid in" or something. It's more like, if I give zippo ever, are they going to think my kid is a bad prospect or something and then my kids' application will be harmed by my lack of participation? Do I need to give a little protectively to avoid that?

No. If you gave nothing, it will not impact your kid’s admission in any way, shape or form. Unless you’re donating enough to have a wing added on somewhere on campus, the amount you give (whether it’s $0 or $100 or $1000 a year) doesn’t matter.

I used to work in university development. Donations of less than 25K are generally handled in a more automatic process. After that point you will get a human contact but again keep in mind this is a minimum threshold.

I am 2500 a year and I have a person. Now that is every year for a number of years and am biglaw partner but she meets with me at my office once or twice a year. School has multi-billion endowment.

You have a person who meets with you regularly because their data suggests that you have capacity. That + your giving history leads them to believe that there are bigger gifts possible in the future.

TRUE. I was going to say the same. They are also hoping for a mention in the will. $2500 is chump change. It’s seven figures at Harvard.

DP. It may be 7 figures at Harvard. Obviously, all schools are not Harvard. But people on this board consistently overestimate the amount of $$ it takes to get on the radar at the vast majority of universities (I think it’s how they rationalize not giving). Consistent giving over a long period of time is definitely recognized, 5 figure giving is notable, and 6 figures will get you a development officer that is your best friend. This is even at schools with a large endowment. Endowments are usually limited in how they can be spent, so schools are always looking for scholarship money, etc. How that translates into admission depends on the school. Some don’t consider legacy or giving at all. For others, it’s a significant finger on the scale.

It cost 2.5 million to get Jared Kushner into Harvard 20+ years ago. I imagine it's significantly higher now.
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-power/news/a8718/daniel-golden-college-admission/

The percentage of alumni donating to the country's top 20 universities dropped over the last 10 years, but the average alumni contribution nearly doubled—meaning that this crucial source of support is coming from large checks written by a relative few. In 2015 alone, seven individuals made gifts of more than $100 million apiece to higher education, including one bequest. And as the ultrarich boost philanthropy to universities, the price for giving their progeny an admissions edge has escalated correspondingly. "People think that if they give a couple hundred thousand or a million they're big donors. That's just no longer the case at major universities," Notre Dame's Bishop said.

[Anonymous]

If you need to give money to get your kid admitted, something is wrong. Large donations impact very few admissions, and those are much larger than you can afford. Let your kid get admitted on their own merit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks. I'm more worried about it from the bad slacker end. I'm less concerned about trying to "buy my kid in" or something. It's more like, if I give zippo ever, are they going to think my kid is a bad prospect or something and then my kids' application will be harmed by my lack of participation? Do I need to give a little protectively to avoid that?

No. If you gave nothing, it will not impact your kid’s admission in any way, shape or form. Unless you’re donating enough to have a wing added on somewhere on campus, the amount you give (whether it’s $0 or $100 or $1000 a year) doesn’t matter.

I used to work in university development. Donations of less than 25K are generally handled in a more automatic process. After that point you will get a human contact but again keep in mind this is a minimum threshold.

I am 2500 a year and I have a person. Now that is every year for a number of years and am biglaw partner but she meets with me at my office once or twice a year. School has multi-billion endowment.

You have a person who meets with you regularly because their data suggests that you have capacity. That + your giving history leads them to believe that there are bigger gifts possible in the future.

Exactly. I donated minimal to my alma mater, but they clearly had scraped my giving data, etc to see that I contributed a lot more to a number of non profits. They came to town, asked me to go to lunch, very casual. The next time they were in town, they invited me again. At some point in the meal, I indicated that I didn't really have the fondest memories of undergrad. Their faces fell. I picked up the tab at the end of the meal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you need to give money to get your kid admitted, something is wrong. Large donations impact very few admissions, and those are much larger than you can afford. Let your kid get admitted on their own merit.

LOL, there are more qualified applicants than spots. That's the reality.