THE ALUMNI FUND
Chairman Alumni Fund Committee 1922-1924
For the purpose of reducing the deficiency in income available for scholarships and for the needs of instruction, a plan proposed by Mr. H. H. Hilton '90, then a Trustee of the College, for raising annual funds from Dartmouth alumni, was endorsed by the Association of Class Secretaries in 1906, and in June of the same year was submitted to the General Alumni Association which approved the plan and directed its Executive Committee to appoint a committee of nine to solicit subscriptions. Such a committee was appointed and at the meeting of the Alumni Association in June, a year following, reported "cash received $5,147.10" from 553 contributors. At this meeting it was voted that the fund be known as .the Tucker Alumni Scholarship and Instruction Fund. These were the pioneer days of acquainting the alumni with the administrative problems of the College. Progress was made slowly but steadily.
The Council of the Alumni of Dartmouth College had been organized in 1913 and at the annual meeting of the General Alumni Association in 1914, the Association approved the formation by the Council of a committee to raise funds annually for "The Dartmouth College Alumni Fund on the Tucker Foundation," to be used for the support and maintenance of the College, provided for the transfer of the funds of "The Tucker Scholarship and Instruction Fund" to "The Dartmouth College Alumni Fund on the Tucker Foundation," and expressed it as the sense of the Association that of gifts made to the new fund a proportion be set aside as a permanent alumni fund.
The following table shows the progress of the funds from year to year: AmountYear Contributors Contributed, 1906-1907 553 5,147.10 1907-1908 686 6,250.44 1908-1909 423 3,671.90 1909-1910 327 3,298.75 1910-1911 376 3,439.70 1911-1912 452 4,721.35 1912-1913 429 3,539.35 1913-1914 392 5,397.00 1914-1915 536 7,824.44 1915-1916 726 12,177.49 1916-1917 1066 20,675.77 1917-1918 2729 64,566.72 1918-1919 2282 62,080.53 1919-1920 2803 58,005.67 1920-1921 3292 70,455.70 1921-1922 3530 65,542.52 1922-1923 3784 71,042.06 1923-1924 4509 80,579.96
The Alumni Fund has continued from year to year to be a special responsibility of the Alumni Council, which regards no other service that it performs for the College as of greater importance. From the beginning in 1906 to June 30 of the current year men of Dartmouth have con- tributed to the present and to the earlier Alumni Fund $548,416, of which $138, 603 is set aside as a permanent fund in the custody of the Treasurer of the College under the Associated Trusts of the College.
The influence which prompts alumni fund giving may be that which Mr. Henry Stanford Brooks, a former chairman of the Yale University Alumni Fund Association, characterizes as something "spiritual." Certainly the urge to give is stimulated by no thought of material advantage to the giver. In his address of welcome to the Dartmouth undergraduates at the college opening last month, President Hopkins referred to "the emotional affection which binds men to their own colleges." If we seek an explanation of alumni giving, I think we have it there. We Dartmouth men have annually, for nearly twenty years, through the Alumni Fund, been giving definite expression to our emotional affection for the College.
But back of emotional affection lies, I believe, a recognition or an acceptance of the practical aspect of the situation. We desire Dartmouth to yield in educational opportunities to no other institution of collegiate grade. We know that Dartmouth has two principal sources of revenue—income from endowment and income from tuition. We have had repeatedly presented to us the statement of fact that Dartmouth's endowment is small compared with that of some other institutions to which otherwise we admit no inferiority, the endowment comparison being especially unfavorable to Dartmouth when expressed on a per student basis- one-quarter that of Amherst, one-third that of Wesleyan, and one-half that of Harvard, Williams and Wesleyan. We know that there is no magic by means of which endowment may be adequately increased. We wait patiently—we hope for the future. Meanwhile we undertake to fill the breach.
We recognize that Dartmouth is not a business enterprise; that its profits are not represented by dollars, but in the development of character and understanding —and in the education of men for citizenship. We readily understand that tuition established on a cost basis would make collegiate education impossible for many a lad deserving of a Dartmouth training. Not long since I saw a Catalogue of Dartmouth issued in October, 1832. In a statement of probable annual student expenses, given as $94.24, the item for tuition is $27.00. This charge for tuition did not, of course, cover the cost of tuition, the difference being made up from the income from such endowment as was then available. The boy who paid $27.00 for tuition was receiving financial aid from previous benefactions made to the College, beginning with the eleven thousand pounds which Samson Occom and Nathaniel Whitaker had, after a two and a half years' pilgrimage, been instrumental in getting together in England and Scotland from about twenty-five hundred persons. The boy today, paying the present charge of $300 for tuition, is equally the beneficiary of the generosity of a long line of others, for $300 falls short of the cost. Baldly stated, there is not one of us, ever receiving instruction in a Dartmouth classroom, who has not been the recipient of the charity of others. Squirm as we may at the thought of it, Dartmouth and all other endowed colleges are charitable institutions and as such they will always be seeking funds for maintenance and development. The alternative is stagnation.
It has been made clear to us that Dartmouth's income from endowment and income from tuition are together insufficient, even with the practice of intelligently applied economy of operation, to meet those expenditures which are necessary if Dartmouth's prestige is to be maintained. We are convinced that the Alumni Fund saves the administration from the necessity of making further economies that would be crippling; that it enables the President and the Trustees to maintain Dartmouth with educational standards that do not place Dartmouth at a disadvantage when compared with the standards of other colleges. Educational standards mean quality of teaching —and quality of teaching depends upon the quality of teachers. If the teaching is good, the college is good; if the teaching is mediocre, the college is mediocre. In other words, the strength of the college is dependent upon the strength of its faculty. Now Dartmouth is competing with other first-class colleges for first- class teachers, and failure to compete successfully means loss of good men and inability to secure good men. Business is likewise entering into the field of competition for teachers. The Dartmouth budget for instructional expense has increased from $218,000 in 1914-15 to $611,000 in 1924-25. Educational standards mean also an adequately maintained plant.
"The question which underlies the whole matter," President Hopkins has said, "is whether Dartmouth is to be classified among educational institutions of first rank, capable of rendering maximum service, or whether she is to fall to second-class estate. I know their common sentiment to be nothing less than the best is good enough for the College, and I believe that this is the platform on which we all wish to take our stand." And again when he tells us that "the American college must measure its capacity for future work largely in terms of interest and generosity of its alumni in supplementing its established endowment" we determine that Dartmouth's capacity for future work shall not be unduly curtailed.
At the Chicago Pow-wow last February Mr. Charles G. DuBois '91 was speaking of the opportunity for Dartmouth of leadership in a great awakening of intellectual leadership. He was speaking officially as a trustee of the College when he said that, "The only handicap we see toward grasping this opportunity is financial. We are keeping within our means only by economy of management, which is wholesome, but our ability to do bigger and better things in the direction of which I have spoken depends on the response of the alumni." It becomes an individual privilege to assist toward that end when he urges support of the Alumni Fund, "not alone because we are grateful for what Dartmouth has given us; not alone because we are responsible for her future, though these would be reasons enough. Rather it is an opportunity to take a direct part in no less a cause than saving the quality of our civilization by more intelligent education which alone is the hope of the modern world."
We men of Dartmouth resolve that we will help Dartmouth make the most of its opportunity; that we will serve as its first line of financial defence; that we will bridge the gap which now exists between income from endowment plus income from from tuition—and expense. By so doing we have been assured that we give heart and encouragement to the magnificent leadership of President Hopkins, to the other officers of administration, to the faculty, and to the-trustees.
This resolve of ours we express through our representatives on the Alumni Council, which designates six of its members to serve as a Committee on the Alumni Fund. The Committee has an Executive Secretary, resident in Hanover, and directs its efforts through Class Agents. There is the maximum of simplicity to this organization. It is made up entirely of Dartmouth men, voluntarily working in our behalf for the greater glory of Dartmouth. A very large eastern university is about to undertake a campaign for several million dollars. lam informed that the institution has for this purpose employed a concern of professional money-getters which otherwise, individually or collectively, has no relation with the university. This is one method of organization, which may be effective and productive to the maximum but for myself the plan is not thinkable for Dartmouth, whose sons are ready to respond for service when called—who are ready to put their shoulders to the task and to see it through. Fundamentally our plan of organization is, I believe, well adapted for the purposes of the Alumni Fund. In detail of operation improvement can without doubt be made and will be made. Alumni discussion regarding the Fund, such as took place at the Chicago Powwow, is encouraging and helpful. Last spring a group of alumni in Chicago set up a co-operative committee to which Class Agents might apply for assistance among Dartmouth men in and about Chicago. It may extend its efforts farther in the middle west. The members of the Committee propose that there shall be no Dartmouth man within the sphere of their influence who is not given the opportunity of having the needs of the College made clear to him by personal interview. It may be that similarly other groups of alumni in other sections of the country may offer assistance. The ,Holyoke Alumni Association last year promised a contribution from every one of its members, and made good.
There are Dartmouth men whose affection for the College is deep but who lack an understanding of the needs of the College; it is the business of the Alumni Fund organization to make known an appreciation of those needs. The Committee and the Agents here fall short of full accomplishment, but the efforts are cumulative, and each year brings a larger number of contributors than the previous year. It may confidently be expected that within a few years not less than 90 per cent, of the graduates of the College will be giving regularly to the Fund as against 70 per cent, for the year just finished.
There are Dartmouth men whose affection is deep but who withhold a small contribution because they have a feeling that it would not help much; and one of the chief concerns of the Alumni Fund Organization is to make it clear that every contribution helps. Among the entries on Dartmouth's original endowment were these two: "A widow, 5 s." "Two widows, 10 s. 6 d."
There are a very few Dartmouth men whose affection for the College has been strained for one reason or another, due usually to some misunderstanding. These misunderstandings may be very opposite in character. The College has too liberal tendencies—or it is reactionary in its conservatism; it over-emphasizes athletics or is out of sympathy with athletics. One may be aggrieved because he did not secure a good seat at a football game, or no ticket at all; or because in some communication his name was incorrectly typed, or because he was "plucked" in a freshman year examination and the plucker still remains on the faculty; or because the son of a friend failed to meet the requirements under the selective process. It is usually difficult to know how to proceed in such cases, but with some of them a way can be found to clear away the misunderstanding.
Then there are those who just naturally tend to delay doing what they have every desire and intention of doing. They obey the impulse by easy stages, but they leave the Class Agent in the early months quite in the dark as to their intentions and add to his burdens enormously. The agent, poor fellow, knowing as a result of experience that a failure to respond may be interpreted only as a failure to respond, keeps persistently at it to obtain a response. He assumes no right to have a favorable response, but hopes for some response, even though it may be only a friendly and sympathetic "No." A positive "No" is helpful. A declaration of intention to contribute at some specified time saves further appeal. A simple acknowledgement is encouraging. It is also courteous. It is utter silence that makes the Agent's work burdensome—in some cases to the point of discouragement.
Through the agency of the Alumni Fund and the generosity of Dartmouth men, the Treasurer of the College was able to close his books for the year ending June 30, 1924, without a deficit. Nearly forty-five hundred men participated in this achievement by contributing $80,579. These men gave very tangible evidence of their loyalty to the College—of their love for the College; they voted confidence in the policies of President Hopkins ; they made plain their desire that the College should continue to be maintained at a standard of excellence which would justify their continued admiration and permit them to hold their heads high in any company of college men.
If the alumni continue to give year after year as much as they did this year, it would be equivalent to increasing the endowment of the College by more than $1,600,000. I misinterpret the spirit of alumni giving if the annual contributions very shortly do not reach an amount equivalent to an increase in endowment of at least $2,000,000. Is there no end to it? I hope not. It is good for our Dartmouth souls to have the college problems laid before us at least once a year. It was said at a meeting of college men in New York last winter that—"A college which admitted that it had no need for funds would be in a moribund condition." All first-rate colleges are seeking funds. Many of them have met the situation through campaigns for increased endowment. Alumni of these colleges have been solicited for and have given for such endowment $20, $100, $200, $500, $1,000 $10,000, $20,000 and more—the aggregate of contributions in each case amounting to as much as a million, and in some cases to several millions of dollars. There appears to be no doubt that Dartmouth men in preponderant numbers prefer to give from year to year out of income for the current college requirements $l, $5, $lO, $25, $50, $100, $500, $1,000 or more. We have very few men of large means. One-half of our alumni have been graduated since 1911 and these men as a group have not had time to build up large reserves from which they may readily draw to make substantial contributions to endowment. Ten or fifteen years hence the situation may be more favorable for increased endowment from alumni.
The needs of the College for the year ending June 30 next will soon be presented to us by the new Alumni Fund Committee, of which Allan L. Priddy '15' will be Chairman and Robert Booth '21 the Executive Secretary. We will then hear from our Class Agents. I earnestly hope that under their guidance this may be the best year ever in total contributions and in number of contributors. We can. make it so if each one of us will respond promptly to his Class Agent and talk about the needs of the Alumni Fund whenever and wherever he may be in the company of Dartmouth men.
If the memories and associations of Dartmouth were suddenly extinguished from our thoughts there would be an unfillable void for most of us. Because of this we have an affection for the College which we translate into terms of loyalty. Loyalty to Dartmouth is love for Dartmouth—the Dartmouth spirit. Such loyalty is of course meaningless unless we interest ourselves in the problems of the College and help to solve them.
As we may be following the spectacular side of undergraduate activity, with gratification, it is to be hoped, as the season progresses, let us occasionally pause and apply a test to our loyalty to Dartmouth. Support of Dartmouth through the Alumni Fund may suggest itself as one test. If that test should be applied, let us give prompt expression to our loyalty for Dartmouth when the call comes to us from the Alumni Fund Committee or from the Committee's Class Agent and let us specifically offer such assistance as they may feel we can render them in serving Dartmouth.
CLARENCE G. MCOAVITT '00 Retiring chairman of the Alumni Fund Committee
ALLAN L. PRIDDY '15 Recently elected chairman of the Alumni Fund Committee
