Anonymous wrote:It is that time of year and we are getting the calls from our undergrad/grad schools for donations. I fear that we may give a laughably low amount. I recently saw that my grad school class giving was almost $100k this year and we had a pretty small class. That means some people are giving thousands each. Do people really give hundreds/thousands of dollars each year? I liked my schools, but frankly they are not high on my charitable giving list. I am curious how much others give.
$1000 a year to my undergrad college (SLAC). I got a lot of financial aid, including grants, when I was a student. When I was in my 20's I would donate $50-100 a year but now I try not to give such small amounts to any charity--I think it just creates more paperwork for them and doesn't do a lot to actually help--I try to give at least $250, even though it means I support fewer organizations. (Except, I guess with colleges the % of alums who donate factors into some of the college rankings, so maybe its worth it to give small amounts for that reason.)
Nothing to my grad school, AKA The Extremely Wealthy University That Ate Washington DC And Doesn't Need Any More Money.