A BLUE-CHIP ASSET FOR 50 YEARS

THE Dartmouth Alumni Fund, opening its Fiftieth Anniversary Campaign this month with a $1,500,000 goal that would have stupefied its founders, is such a reliable and indispensable resource of today's College and is such a settled tradition in the minds of all Dartmouth men that it is difficult to understand how the College ever got along without it.

The truth of the matter is that Dartmouth got along very poorly without the Alumni Fund or some comparable form of alumni concern for the welfare of the College. And the necessary preamble to the story of the Fund's beginnings and its remarkable growth over the past fifty years is a brief sketching-in of those years of desperate struggle to keep the deficit-ridden institution going.

The perennial problem confronting the College during its whole first century was a lack of money. In 1819, just after the Dartmouth College Case was successfully concluded, it was reported at Commencement that "the revenues of the College from all sources combined are entirely insufficient to meet its expenses, and it is oppressed with a heavy load of debt."

With the accession of President Nathan Lord in 1828 it was stated that "the immediate burden of the new administration is a financial one." Ten months earlier the Board of Trustees had attempted to raise a subscription of $50,000, but after several printed appeals and mass meetings only $6,000 had been secured from sixty alumni.

In 1841 the Trustees stated, "We have exhausted the available resources of the College in providing for the security of its property, and the accommodation and instruction of its students. A sum of $50,000 is requisite to sustain the Departments of Instruction, to make necessary additions to the Library and to the philosophical, mathematical and chemical apparatus." Subscriptions were requested, to be payable only if $30,000 was raised by August 1, 1843. This condition was not met, since only $23,000 had been pledged by that date.

In 1855 the General Alumni Association was formed, "with reference to more effectual raising of money." But the rank and file of graduates were unresponsive. In general, they felt that since they had no part in the conduct of College affairs and had no official representation on the Board of Trustees, they would let the Board solve its own problems.

When President Asa Dodge Smith took over in 1863 he found "a slender treasury, a meager endowment, buildings in need of repair, and an underpaid faculty." The Trustees set out to raise $100,000, but after three years they had received promises of only $30,000. By the end of the Smith administration the sum of deficits had grown to $65,000. As an incongruity, designated gifts to the College during the thirteen-year term totaled $960,000. But in the selfsame year that this announcement was made there had been an operating loss of $11,000.

The Reverend Samuel Colcord Bartlett found in June 1877 that "the financial condition of the College is too serious to be neglected." A committee of seven alumni was appointed to confer with the Trustees on the general interests of the College. Again, an appeal for subscriptions was made, but the net result was "only a few thousand dollars."

Even when the successful tenure of William Jewett Tucker was inaugurated in 1893, "deficits in the annual accounts still continued, and the debt of the College was large."

Almost at once, President Tucker, recognizing the value of the traditions and history of the College, capitalized on this to persuade the alumni that the past of the College was no more an object of pride than its future promise. And with that he aroused their sense of responsibility for its welfare.

He saw to it that the alumni obtained representation on the Board of Trustees. He immediately took them into his confidence and made them a party to the execution of his plans. He made it one of his duties to attend annual alumni meetings and special gatherings, telling the alumni what had been done and explaining his plans for the future. He presented the College "not as a beggar that demanded, and would be satisfied with their grudging gifts, but as an object of their personal interest and responsibility, whose welfare rested upon them as onerously as upon the College guardians. He did not ask a sentimental regard, but a sober recognition of the worth of their Dartmouth in what it had done for them and in what it might do for others."

Between 1893 and 1909, as a testimony to the increasing strength of organized alumni activity, twelve new alumni associations were formed, bringing the total to twenty-three.

The destruction of Dartmouth Hall by fire on February 18, 1904, and the spontaneous response by Boston alumni to the inspiring call, "This is not an invitation, it is a summons," did more to coalesce alumni concern than any other single event in the history of the College. It was evidence that alumni could assume responsibility for movements of imposing magnitude. It was the first occasion when an appeal made solely to graduates met with a totally adequate response.

In 1905 a forceful book publisher from Chicago, Henry H. Hilton '90, became a member of the Board of Trustees. At the age of 37 he was the youngest member of that august body. Hilton immediately started pushing for the establishment of an annual Alumni Fund, but President Tucker - and his youthful secretary, E.M. Hopkins '01 - did not believe'that the time was propitious for such an undertaking. It was their opinion that the formation of a more dynamic alumni organization, with direct representation on the Board of Trustees, came first. The full force of such a group could then be directed toward fund-raising activity.

But Henry Hilton won this preliminary skirmish, and the following year (1906) the Tucker Alumni Scholarship and Instruction Fund was established. It was originally intended only for scholarships, by making up for decreasing rates of interest on the scholarship funds then in the hands of the College. Mr. Hilton was chairman of the Fund for the eight years of its existence, and Ernest Martin Hopkins was its secretary until 1910, when he was succeeded by Horace G. Pender '97.

As if to bear out the thinking of Dr. Tucker, Mr. Hopkins and others, the Fund succeeded best as sort of a "pilot" undertaking. In eight years it produced $35,465, with the number of contributors ranging from a maximum of 686 in 1908 to a minimum of 392 in 1914.

In the meantime there came into being an organization which over the years has done more to crystallize and vitalize alumni thinking, action, and leadership than any other group. The Dartmouth Alumni Council was formed. It became the working arm of the General Alumni Association, which met too seldom, and generally with sparse attendance. The Council's formation was recommended at the annual meeting of Class Secretaries in 1911, its constitution approved by mail ballot in 1912, and its first meeting held in Philadelphia on November 7, 1913.

At this very first meeting the Council voted in favor of establishing an annual Alumni Fund, and a committee was appointed to arrange organizational details. The following summer, in June 1914, the committee made its report, and proposed at the annual meeting of the General Alumni Association that a committee be formed to "solicit and collect funds annually for the support and maintenance of the College."

The formal resolution went on to say that "this Association sanctions and approves the formation ... of the Dartmouth College Alumni Fund, ... that endeavors be made in the collection of such fund to have the gifts, so far as possible, unrestricted in their purpose, and that they be used ... to increase the funds available for current use."

The Committee for the Tucker Alumni Scholarship and Instruction Fund was to deliver to the treasurer of the Alumni Fund all its assets, and then be discharged from its trust. A Committee on an Alumni Fund was to be constituted, and take up with the president and secretary of the Alumni Council the matter of financing its first campaign.

In one of its first mailing pieces, in March 1915, the Fund Committee outlined the philosophy of this new financial approach. "Few can give capital for endowment. All can give income for expenditure. By such means the alumni themselves become part of the College endowment, and are capitalized for the benefit of the College." It was sometime later that Dr. Hopkins coined the phrase "living endowment," using it at an alumni dinner in New York and thus expressing in two words the novel approach to fund-raising at a time when the College's actual endowment was very meager.

The first appeal cannot be described as a striking success, since it brought in only $6,580 from 536 contributors - a smaller number than normally attended the annual alumni dinner in Boston. These contributors represented about 11% of the living graduates, and their donations averaged $12.30. But this small amount was more than twice the total received from the Tucker Fund collection in the previous year. It was sufficient to erase the College deficit of $3,158 for that year.

For the next thirteen years, through 1928, the distribution of Fund receipts was as follows:

(1) To meet the College's operating budget $721,736 (2) To reduce the mortgage on Alumni Gymnasium 50,000 (3) To build up the W.J. Tucker Fellowship 8,000 (4) To add money to the Alumni Fund Principal 84,610 Total $864,346

In some of these years the College did not have sufficient funds on hand to meet its regular operating budget. It was not until 1923, for example, that the 1916-17 deficit was completely taken care of. But in 1924, instead of having to appropriate for a past deficit, it was possible to announce that the substantial sum of $65,739 would be set aside for "the general expenses of the College." In other words, from that point on the anticipated current deficit rather than past deficits would be met.

In 1924 it was also decided that since the fundamental purpose of the Fund was to provide "additions to income instead of "additions to capital," the payments to the principal of the Alumni Fund would be discontinued. By this time the Fund's principal had grown to $177,048.

It may be of interest to note here that with the final allocation of $5,000 to write off the Alumni Gymnasium debt, the mortgage papers and the football dummy were burned together at the final practice of the 1925 championship football season.

The 1914-1928 period saw the Fund's annual goal rise to $115,000; and receipts passed the $100,000 mark in 1926. The ratio of contributors to living graduates went up to 73% in 1927 as Dartmouth men responded wholeheartedly to Fund appeals.

The basic philosophy of the Dartmouth Alumni Fund was frequently reexamined and reaffirmed by various Fund committees: Fund proceeds were intended chiefly to meet current needs, not to build up a capital fund for endowment purposes. It was resolved by the Alumni Council in 1919, for example, that "alumni should accept the obligation to provide the College with income from regular contributions equal to the income from an endowment of $2,000,000, and that the amount so raised should be increased by $25,000 each year until such equivalency was achieved." It tooK nine years to reach this goal.

It is noteworthy that in 1926 the first 25th Year Gift was presented to the College by the Class of 1901. Thus another important concept of class giving began. Through the succeeding years the 25th Year Memorial Funds have produced phenomenal results. The income from these invested funds is credited annually to the Alumni Fund total under a policy officially established in 1937.

By 1955 income from the Memorial Funds exceeded $50,000, and only five years later had gone to $102,659, one- sixth of the Fund campaign receipts.

The Memorial Fund program was suspended during the Capital Gifts Campaign (1957-59); then in 1961 the Class Gifts Committee introduced a new program based on a concept of total 25-year giving. This total Class Gift, to be announced at the 25th reunion of the class, includes all gifts made by or on behalf of class members from the year of graduation through its 25th reunion year. The Class of 1936 announced in June of 1961 that it had produced more than half a million dollars. In the two succeeding years the Classes of 1937 and 1938 were able to make similar statements, and recent classes — 1939 and 1940 - have announced goals of $600,000 in total giving.

To return to our chronological story, it was not until 1941 that the Fund total exceeded that of 1929. Quotas dropped from $135,000 in 1930-1932 to $110,000 in 1937-1939. And no quotas at all were set from 1933 to 1936.

The remarkable growth in alumni giving through the Alumni Fund and 25th year class giving programs was, of course, seriously impaired by the great depression of the early thirties. It was not until 1941 that the Alumni Fund regained its momentum and exceeded the $129,000 produced by the 1929 campaign. The number of donors dropped appreciably in the years 1930 through 1935, then began to climb back, going over the 10,000 level for the first time in the 1940 campaign.

These were, of course, uncertain years. It was a time when new ideas and fresh approaches were urgently needed, and many were to get their first test of fire during these troubled times.

Up to this point the organization for Fund campaigns had been almost entirely along class lines. Dartmouth was probably the first to organize its Fund on such a basis. But important face-to-face contacts are difficult to achieve with class groups. So, alumni gatherings were organized in various centers of dense Dartmouth population, where relatively large numbers of alumni could be joined together in a regional effort. A winter and spring "chicken-dinner circuit" was set up for members of the College administration and the Fund staff, with post-prandial discussions of the College's long-range programs and the financial resources necessary to meet them.

I was chairman in the depression years of the early thirties, and it was very tough going. My contribution may have been that I was perhaps the first one who had a sales manager's concept of taking the case to the alumni in important population areas, that is, meeting with Agents in New York, Chicago, Boston, and so forth. I am not sure that I was the first one to think this up, but I was certainly one who tried to give the plan impetus. My own class, 1911, was for years an important contender in both the amount contributed and the number of contributors. I was the Class Agent for some twenty years. My technique was to write at least one personal letter to members of the class every year. It had a major effect on the result.

You ask why so many people give so much time and effort. I think it's in the blood of our citizenry. I once heard a story told about Colonel Stimson when he was Governor General of the Philippines prior to his becoming Secretary of War. When it was decided that the Philippines should have their independence in ten years, a leading Filipino politico said, "Why wait ten years? What do you have in the United States that we don't have here?" My reporter said that Stimson hesitated for a few seconds and then answered, "In the Philippines when anything needs to be done, you expect the church to do it or the government to do it. In the United States when important things need to be done, men of good will get together and bring about the accomplishment."

JOHN C. STERLING '11 Chairman, 1933-34

In later years the geographical approach was used more and more for the initial stages of Fund drives, with concentration on the potentially large givers, whose early gifts and pledges are so helpful and encouraging before the Fund drive officially opens.

Then in April 1935 Dartmouth Hall again was struck with a disastrous fire, which required $200,000 for repairs. By 1940 proceeds from the Alumni Fund in the amount of $114,500 had been allocated for this purpose — the balance having been met by insurance. Statistical studies compiled in 1936 produced some interesting facts:

1. Half of the total contributors came from the thirteen youngest alumni classes.

2. 6% of the donors accounted for half the total funds received.

3. Non-graduate contributors were proving to be an important factor in successful Fund results and many of these men were giving generously each year to the Fund.

4. Although the number of contributors since 1925 had increased by 50%, the number of alumni giving in the upper ranges ($100 and up) had remained almost constant.

These conclusions called for corrective steps. The older classes were encouraged to devote more thought to their obligations. Efforts were made to seek larger gifts. The potential of the non-graduate group was added to class quotas. And, of course, the annual campaigns aimed for the highest possible percentage of participation.

As to Alumni Fund history ... credit should go to Dr. Tucker, his predecessors, and to Dr. Hopkins and Dr. Dickey for the closeness of their alumni contacts and the loyalty which this has inspired. Added to this has been the continued awareness of the College and its activities through the media of The Bulletin and the ALUMNI MAGAZINE.

On the personal side, the rewards for participation have been in friendships and associations with Dartmouth men. An especial privilege was the trips with Dr. Hopkins.

In a way, these. were tests of endurance, for Hop required few hours' sleep. To stay up until dawn after an alumni gathering was not an unusual experience.

But these were unforgettable evenings and mornings. Hop is without peer as a raconteur as well as a perceptive observer and interpreter of the passing scene.

SIGURD S. LARMON '14 Chairman, 1937-1938

The Green Derby made its first appearance in the 1936 campaign, having been conceived at least a year or two before. This now well-known interclass competition has done more to stimulate keen but friendly rivalry among contemporary classes than any other Fund innovation. At first there were only three Green Derby groups, with 38 classes represented. In 1940 a fourth class grouping was added, and by 1963 there were eight Derby groupings - representing 60 classes from 1903 to 1962.

The Green Derby was initiated in my first year as chairman. I was quite impressed with the fact that so many Dartmouth men were motivated to give because their class wasn't doing as well as some other class. This doesn't seem to be a good reason for someone to give, but it was an effective reason. Because of this attitude I felt that the Green Derby competition was a natural device to capitalize on this trend.

Another innovation of my regime was the Century Club. An analysis at that time showed that half of our contributors gave $100 or more, but this provided 90% of the money. However, the Century Club was a device which was most effective at that time in getting a larger number of people to give substantially more than they were giving.

The drive for wider participation has been part of almost every chairman's philosophy. The drive for larger contributions was featured during my regime through the device of the Century Club. Sig Larmon 'l4, who followed me, carried this several steps forward.

JOHN C. HUBBELL '21 Chairman, 1935-1936

The Green Derby competition is a rivalry pitting contemporary classes against each other during the campaign as they work toward an assigned dollar goal and contributor goal. The contributor goal is set by counting all living graduates of a class and adding to this figure one-third of all living non-graduates. The class dollar goals are based on the overall Fund goal for that year and are broken down by means of a rather complicated formula which takes into account the assigned contributor goal, the number of years a class has been out of College, and the giving potential of the class.

Classes in the Green Derby competition are ranked weekly on the percentage of assigned contributor goal achieved and on the percentage of assigned dollar goal achieved; these two percentages added together determine the class standing.

Competition has always been keen in the Green Derby races, and there is little doubt that over a quarter of a century they have been an effective means of measuring and stimulating class achievement in the annual Alumni Fund.

The Green Derby was an important concept for the Fund, particularly for Class Agents, but of equal importance, and perhaps more significant to all alumni, was the introduction during 1939-40 of the Dartmouth "Regulars." Under this program any Dartmouth man who has given to the Fund for ten or more consecutive years (or every year since graduation) receives a special acknowledgment card - with a figure at the top indicating the number of consecutive years he has contributed.

This idea, emphasizing the great importance of continued annual giving, has become one of the great Fund traditions, and Dartmouth men pride themselves on the "regularity" of their gifts to the College. Some 12,000 alumni are now Dartmouth "Regulars" and the number increases each year. This year some fifty alumni will receive special gold-embossed "50" cards for their Fund gifts every year since that first campaign in 1914-15! Nearly 2,000 men have given for forty or more years consecutively.

The birth of this program is reported as follows:

The Fund was still small when I headed it, roughly 10% in dollars of what it is today. Al Dickerson was the only real staff. We initiated some things, however. This was in the late 30's. Until then the emphasis had been almost entirely on the number of givers - get at least a token gift from as many men as possible. In our mailing pieces and at our Agents' meetings we tried to get over the idea that while the percentage of givers was important and should be continued, the purpose of the Fund was to raise money for the College, and Dartmouth needed more dollars. We asked for realistic gifts. Our immediate success in selling this idea was fairly good but not wonderful. It was a starter, but others have since done much better. Also at the suggestion of one of the older agents - I think it was Bill Ham '97 — we started the Dartmouth "Regulars." The idea had merit and I believe it has induced many men to give every year.

The Alumni Fund is a dramatic story of which Dartmouth men can be proud. It is probably true that the fine results of annual giving in most of the private colleges and to a lesser extent the state universities is due in part to the example set by Dartmouth. We pioneered in the idea of a "living endowment." We served on Fund Committees and as Class Agents because "the World will never have to call on Dartmouth men in vain." We felt any success we may have had in life was largely due to the years on Hanover Plain, and we owed the College anything it might ask. What it gave to us was the friendship of many dedicated alumni, friendships that have stuck. I was particularly thrilled to get to know well Ernest Martin Hopkins - one of the very few men I have ever known who could definitely be called lovable. Working with him was full compensation for the hours involved.

SUMNER B. EMERSON '17 Chairman, 1939-40

An important bit of historical data should be inserted at this point. It has to do with the Fletcher Fund, created by the alumni of Thayer School, and operating as a campaign of its own until 1939. To avoid conflicts in programs and to eliminate split allegiances, the Fletcher Fund was discontinued in that year, and amounts varying from $2,400 to $3,900 per year have been earmarked by the Alumni Fund for proper use by the Thayer School.

According to long tradition, non-graduates have always been considered fullfledged members of the Dartmouth family. Instances are many where the man who spent only a few semesters in Hanover, and secured his baccalaureate elsewhere or did not go on to another college, has been a loyal alumnus and a most generous giver. A spirit of solidarity, a sense of fellowship, and a readiness to work for and give to the Fund were growing steadily among Dartmouth men, as Harvey P. Hood '18 reflects:

I think of the question, "What are the principal differences in my fundraising attempts for Dartmouth as compared to those for other organizations?" I immediately see a picture of the readiness with which our Alumni Fund Agents and Assistant Agents accept their assignments. It is so easy comparatively, to generate enthusiasm in connection with anything for the good of Dartmouth. We do not always, of course, get as much as we would like from certain donors, but it is very seldom that we do not get a friendly reception. And there is always a particular thrill when a donor comes across with more than we expected and, at the same time, friendly words which always encourage a solicitor to go out and tackle someone else.

Speaking specifically of the two years that I was chairman, the Fund was very much smaller at that time than it is today. We came out pretty well compared to previous years, but the credit does not belong to me. The first year, we were looking around for a special theme. Sid Hayward suggested that it was Hop's anniversary. Well, of course that was a natural. Thanks to Sid's suggestion and to Al Dickerson, then executive secretary, for taking advantage of it, we came fully up to expectations. The next year, we tried to put in a little extra effort to prevent our going to a low that would somewhat offset our high, but to our surprise, thanks to Al again and our wonderful team of Class Agents, our alumni gave practically as much as they did the year before.

To do one's part in any fund-raising campaign means a lot of hard work, many frustrations, discouragements, seemingly impossible hurdles. But the satisfaction of doing a little something worth while for Dartmouth, together with making a lot of new Dartmouth friends, always makes me feel that I am glad someone asked me to take part - whenever a Dartmouth campaign is involved.

HARVEY P. HOOD '18 Chairman, 1941-1942

In 1940 a Special Committee of Fathers was created, brought about by the fact that, through the absence of young alumni overseas, the fathers at home had seen to it that the Alumni Fund contributions of their sons were kept up. In 1942 there were 5,500 alumni in the armed forces, and the following year parents of these men contributed $17,000. Later the Committee on Fathers was changed to the Dartmouth Parents Committee, and it has since been an important element in each Fund campaign. It seeks support from the parents of all undergraduates and from other parents who have an affection for the College and find that annual gifts are a means of expressing it. The Parents Fund today is an especially encouraging part of each Alumni Fund, with gifts currently running at the $50,000 level.

After World War II, the Alumni Fund really began to come of age as its goals increased and as fresh ideas were introduced. Charles J. Zimmerman '23 details some of the innovations which came out of his tenure as Fund Chairman:

I believe there were three innovations introduced during my tenure as Chairman. These were as follows: First, formation of a Parents Fund Committee and a solicitation of parents for the first time in the history of the Fund.

Second, a decision to have a mail solicitation of the more generous donors prior to the end of the calendar year preceding the Fund campaign, so as to give them a choice of calendar years in which to make all or part of their gifts.

Third, because we were setting up such a year-end solicitation of larger prospective donors, we also set up on a very modest basis a regional Alumni Fund organization. As I recall it, this regional organization was to be established only in the Midwest and Far West and other areas where we did not have any density of alumni population. For 1951, I believe, the Alumni Fund Committee set an objective of $500,000. Not only was this the largest objective ever established for the Fund, but it represented a very considerable increase over the 1950 objective of $400,000.

Actually, the Fund attained a total of over $577,000. Now the innovation may be that the Alumni Fund Committee then recommended to the Trustees of the College that any surplus above the objective should be used for a specific purpose. As I recall it, the excess was used to strengthen Dartmouth's scholarship aid program.

I have one other general recollection in regard to the 1950 and 1951 Alumni Fund activities, and that is that we spent a lot more time getting the cooperation of class newsletter editors than had been true in the past.

The reason I mentioned that the excess of 1951 was devoted to a specific project such as scholarship aid is that I believe we began then to emphasize that the Alumni Fund would have to do more than just help meet the operating deficit of the College. An article for the ALUMNI MAGAZINE on the results of the 1950 Alumni Fund emphasized that Dartmouth's heavy reliance on the Alumni Fund had perhaps done a disservice to the College in some respects. Dartmouth as compared to other Ivy League colleges had done very poorly in receiving capital gifts and in building up its endowment. It was also pointed out that the Fund was no longer doing the job of enabling the College to improve its quality as it had in earlier years. In other words, the stage was set for a reassessment of what the Fund should do and for a raising of sights as to how much the Fund should produce.

CHARLES J. ZIMMERMAN '23 Chairman, 1950-1951

Certainly one of the most important and helpful methods evolved to keep the Fund and Dartmouth interest simmering through the year has been the use and expansion of the Class Newsletter program.

The Newsletter Editor is a class officer, and pounds out twenty to a hundred pages of news about his class and college activities every year. Biographies of classmates, travelogues, changes of address, marriages, births, grandchildren, accomplishments of note, nostalgic recall of undergraduate days, rosters of those in attendance at reunions, football games and other alumni get-togethers - all are recorded. And through it all, unobtrusive and subtle references to the Fund, the Green Derby races, and class progress serve to keep class spirit aroused.

At latest count there are 58 different Newsletters, representing classes from 1902 to 1963. Some are satisfied with the prosaic nomenclature of Class Letter and Newsletter. A majority recognize the class - Tenner Topics, The '23 Skidoo,Five-Five. Others recall college days - The 1916 Balmacaan, '2l Smoker, The'24 Hour Notice, Dope from the Duckboards. Then there are those whose raison d'etre is found in the title - such as Alumni Fund Twoter, Wah-Hoo-Wampum, The '37 Mint Bag, The '43Treasure Yell, Tithe. All are proud of their individuality and color. All are read with avidity, and are most worthy of the effort and expense that goes into them.

The Fifties were among the most significant years in Fund history, with the Fund passing the half-million mark in 1951, then climbing rapidly to almost one million dollars by 1957, when it hit $928,000 — just prior to the Capital Gifts Campaign of 1957-1959.

The Alumni Fund Chairmen were acutely aware of their responsibilities for Fund growth*as this report bears out:

My reaction to John Dickey's request that I chair the Fund Committee in 1952 was, I am sure, the normal one - reluctance to undertake what I felt would be an extremely demanding and time-consuming job, one that might divert time from my business, which I could ill afford. And there was considerable doubt in my mind as to my qualifications.

Fortunately my misgivings were largely unfounded. Nick Sandoe, executive secretary of the Fund, proved to be everything I could desire as mentor and guide. I was quite dependent on him and his capable staff. My committee, consisting of Howie Mullen '27, Roger Wilde '21, Bob Oelman '31, and Ad Winship '42, was a real working group and most helpful.

The rewards were many. Being with John Dickey on frequent trips while we stumped the country together, speaking before alumni groups, was compensation enough for all the labor involved. Getting to know him intimately was a rare privilege.

Accomplishing our goal - something over $600,000 in 1952 and close to $700,000 the next year - was very satisfying although the combined amounts hardly exceed that which was raised this year.

The amounts raised both years established new Fund records as did participation. I felt this was no mean accomplishment following Charlie Zimmerman's astonishing boost in 1951 of some 35%. The continuing ascending curve attests to the generosity and loyalty of our alumni.

What I believe was an innovation was the allotment of the excess raised over quota to faculty salaries as well as scholarships. On recommendation of the Fund Committee the Trustees authorized in 1953 the use of $30,000 of the Fund excess for a second Alumni Fund Scholarship and added $40,000 to the Alumni Fund Scholarship Reserve.

Coming to know more intimately scores of alumni through correspondence and personal contact was a happy experience. Finally, I obtained a better understanding of the needs of the College and a closer look at its whole financial structure.

KENNETH M. HENDERSON '16 Chairman, 1952-1953

The man responsible for merging the Dartmouth Alumni Fund with the College's two-year Capital Gifts Campaign for $17,000,000 was William G. Morton '28 of Syracuse - the only alumnus who served as Fund Chairman for a three- year period. Here is how he views that era:

During the postwar years and particularly the early fifties the Dartmouth Alumni Fund really came of age. It was a period of our greatest growth. It witnessed new records in dollars and in participation each year. Actually, the Fund more than doubled in the 1947-57 decade. It was a great time to be a Fund Chairman.

Dartmouth, as you have already heard, bet heavily on its Class Agent organization. Through the years this had been perfected and improved. New ideas were tried - some accepted, some discarded - but all served to one end, to strengthen Dartmouth's Fund organization and keep it rolling from year to year.

It is no exaggeration to say that by the mid-fifties the Dartmouth Fund Organization had been honed and polished to a high State of efficiency. ... If you wish to succeed in life without half trying, just take a job like the Fund chairmanship following such chairmen as Charlie Zimmerman, Ken Henderson, and Roger Wilde.

It was all too obvious by 1956 that our Fund had now acquired such momentum that with two or three years at the most we would pass the magic million. In the midst of this apparent affluence we were suddenly confronted with the Capital Fund Drive. Our expert fund-raisers recommended that we simply drop the Fund for a 3-year period. This, your Fund Committee and your Hanover staff were reluctant to do.

Without going into detail, suffice it to say it was finally determined to keep our Class Agent organization intact and conduct a modified Alumni Fund Campaign each year, most significantly allowing credit as a participant of the Alumni Fund to any donor to the Capital Fund drive.

As we look back on these years, I think we can take satisfaction in the decision to preserve at all costs our Class Agent organization. Certainly, it made possible a gentle return to "normalcy" in the early 60's and the impressive results of the last few years.

WILLIAM G. MORTON '28 Chairman, 1956-1958

It will be recalled that there was no formal Alumni Fund campaign whatsoever during 1959 because this was the year in which the general canvass of all Dartmouth men was made for capital gifts. Thus the year 1960 was the first Alumni Fund drive to be mounted after the Capital Campaign, and it was conducted during a period when most alumni were meeting their three-year obligations to the capital drive as Chairman Donald F. Sawyer '21 explains:

I took over the job as Fund Chairman in 1959 at a most difficult time. A large percentage of alumni were still paying off their pledges to the Capital Gifts Campaign when the Alumni Fund launched its first campaign after having suspended operations for the duration of the former. Probably the greatest contribution made to the Fund was the difficult decision to establish the first $1,000,000 goal, serving notice on all alumni that this was the kind of money, that the College would have to expect annually if we were to achieve the objectives of the Trustees Planning Committee.

Up until that time the Fund had established a goal which could reasonably be achieved, and everyone took great pride in going "over the top" each year. It was not very easy, therefore, to establish a quota which almost certainly could not be met under the conditions.

However, we did it and fell short of the $1,000,000 in spite of the usual fine work of the Class Agents and the Hanover staff. I believe, however, that it paved the way for the next year's achievement of a $1,000,000 goal, and to that extent it was not in vain.

I'm afraid that I cannot take credit for any of the innovations which have made our Alumni Fund the envy of all other colleges. All I can say is that there is no more dedicated group in the world than the Dartmouth Class Agents and it is a foregone conclusion that as long as its spirit is fostered by the Alumni Fund Committee and the staff in Hanover it will continue to be the most vital force in the development of Dartmouth.

DONALD F. SAWYER '21 Chairman, 1959-1960

When John D. Dodd '22, a Vice President of the New York Telephone Company, became Fund Chairman in 1961 the time had come for the Alumni Fund to move forward vigorously and to match its forward thrust with Dartmouth's. Mr. Dodd, now a Trustee of the College, proved a dynamic chairman yet a leader who approached his responsibilities in a thoughtful fashion. His outline of the two campaigns that boosted the Fund over the million-dollar level is a revealing one:

From my position as Head Class Agent for 1922 several things were clear to me as I looked ahead to the 1960 Campaign: First, our Alumni Fund was becoming more and more important to the financial stability of the College and it seemed desirable to have alumni support grow as the needs of the College grow.

Secondly, I felt that each alumnus should carefully consider the adequacy of his Fund contributions, and to do this each alumnus should know as much as possible about the plans and needs of the College.

One of the big problems, of course, was finding improved ways of communicating facts about Dartmouth to the alumni. This needed to be done in such a way that the interest of each man is aroused to the point where he will carefully consider the size of his contribution and, if possible, to create enough interest to bring about actual involvement of new individuals in alumni work.

At about this point I was asked to head the 1960-61 Alumni Fund Campaign, and, with the help of an outstanding Fund Committee we set out to accomplish some of these things. The following steps were undertaken as part of our 1960-61 campaign:

Regional meetings of small groups of alumni were held in the fall to tell the Dartmouth story and the need of alumni support on a more realistic basis.

We created as large and as strong a Class Agent organization as possible - more than 2,500 men - and we got Class Agents together in Hanover and around the country as much as possible to discuss Dartmouth needs.

We set a rough goal - $1,000,000 - and told people why this was necessary. We talked about needs for participation and also size of individual gifts, recognizing that the format of giving to our Alumni Fund was not unlike most campaigns where a relatively small percentage of contributors give a high percentage of the total.

We also did everything possible to improve communications by distributing information on how the income of the College was used and by using a planned program of telephone communication.

The interest and helpfulness of both workers and contributors in that campaign was unbelievable. The response is amazing when the cause is good and the need for telling the story is appreciated.

We exceeded our objective of $1,000,000 and in the next campaign fell just a bit short of our objective of $1,250,000. Nevertheless, the dollar total of $1,210,000 was another all-time high for the Fund.

The continued annual increase in giving to the Alumni Fund and the increase in the number of Class Agents year after year reflect the increased willingness of alumni to give of their time, effort and material substance. This can mean only one thing - that Dartmouth becomes stronger and stronger in her efforts to realize her high objectives.

JOHN D. DODD '22 Chairman, 1961-1962

It should be noted here that the Dartmouth Alumni Fund had long attracted attention from other colleges and universities because of its distinctive records in percent of alumni participation. From 1953 to 1963 the Dartmouth Fund was listed on all the honor rolls published by the American Alumni Council; usually ranked in first place in alumni participation, and well up among the nation's leaders in total dollars, total number of donors, and average gift.

The Dartmouth Class Agents organization has literally served as a model for hundreds of other college, university, and secondary-school annual fund programs.

Indeed, as a result of the rebuilding of the Fund following the Capital Campaign, the American Alumni Council and U.S. Steel Foundation presented to the Dartmouth Fund the 1962 grand award for "sustained performance in alumni support."

Succeeding Jack Dodd '22 as Fund Chairman for the 1963 campaign and for the 1964 Golden Anniversary drive, now getting under way, was Charles F. Moore Jr. '25, former Vice President for Public Relations of the Ford Motor Company, and a long-time Class Agent and Fund worker. At the end of his first year as Fund Chairman, Mr. Moore reported:

This was my first year as Alumni Fund Chairman. I never will forget the realization that gradually came to me, as the campaign developed, of what a truly significant resource our Alumni Fund represents for Dartmouth, and indeed, for higher education in general. Over ten percent of our entire alumni body, some 3400 men in all, worked for the 1963 Fund as Head Agents, Class Agents, or in their capacities as class officers and newsletter editors. Another 100 alumni assisted with a fall regional program for advanced gifts in a dozen major alumni centers across the nation. Nine other men worked closely with me on the Alumni Fund Committee, meeting during the year to make certain that the Fund was guided well and was continuing to maintain the great traditions which have been its strength over the past half century.

While the Dartmouth Fund is a unified campaign, it is important to realize that the overall results reflect the success of the individual class campaigns, mounted under class leadership and directed by the Head Agent of each class. It is this class leadership, class organization, and class spirit which make our achievements possible.

CHARLES F. MOORE JR. Chairman, 1963-1964

In a history of this sort it is well to recognize the significant leadership given to the Fund by its Chairmen, the various alumni who have served over the years on the Alumni Fund Committees, the Head Class Agents and the thousands of Assistant Agents - all volunteers. Behind these volunteers, of course, stands the Alumni Fund Office in Hanover - providing day-by-day assistance and experienced counsel, guidance, and encouragement.

Nine Dartmouth men have served as Executive Secretaries of the Alumni Fund over the past 49 years, two of them now deceased and seven still active and devoted alumni. The Fund's first Secretary was the late Homer Eaton Keyes '00, who served from 1915 to 1919 while he was Business Director of the College. Following him was Russell R. "Cotty" Larmon '19, later Professor of Administration at the College, who served as Fund Secretary from 1920-24. Robert P. Booth '22, now a Manchester, N.H., attorney, was Secretary in 1925, and then the late and highly beloved Dean Robert C. Strong '24 was Fund Secretary in 1926-27 and again during 1930-1931.

Sidney C. Hayward '26, now Secretary of the College, took his turn as Fund Secretary in 1928-1929 and was followed by Albert I. Dickerson '30, currently Dean of Freshmen. Dean Dickerson had the longest tenure as Fund Secretary, serving from 1932 through 1945 when he left this post to become Director of Admissions at Dartmouth. His successor was George H. Colton '35, present Director of Development, who served from 1945 to 1950. Two 1945 classmates then successively took over the executive direction of the Fund - Nichol M. Sandoe Jr. '45, serving as Secretary from 1951 to 1957, and Clifford L. Jordan Jr. '45, the current Secretary, taking over in 1958 when Mr. Sandoe became Associate Director of Development.

Time and again the Fund Chairmen, Head Agents, Assistant Agents, and alumni in general have paid tribute to the hard-working staff of the Hanover Fund Office. There is little doubt that the Fund Secretaries and their staffs through dedicated labors hold a major responsibility for the success of the Dartmouth Fund.

Ultimately, of course, the development of the Fund to its present eminence is due to all Dartmouth men who have worked or contributed to it. From the very start the Fund has been an alumni responsibility - conceived, directed, and nurtured by thousands of Dartmouth men. It has become one of the College's most priceless assets, providing through its annual gifts the "margin of excellence" that enables Dartmouth to mount and maintain the programs essential to a liberal arts college of first rank.

Most of the Fund proceeds have been channeled directly into the annual operating budget of the College, meeting the day-to-day needs of every department and providing unrestricted funds where they are most needed. However, in the past decade - thanks to alumni generosity — Fund goals have been exceeded and the additional resources have been used for a variety of purposes. The Alumni Fund has created a substantial endowed Alumni Fund Scholarship Fund, with the income supporting an Alumni Fund Scholar in each undergraduate class. Fund proceeds have also been utilized for a scholarship reserve, to help refurbish the College's language laboratories, and for other year-to-year projects. Over the past three years some Fund proceeds have been utilized to support the programs of the Hopkins Center and supplement funds for book acquisitions at Baker Library. The Fund in this period has also assisted the William Jewett Tucker Foundation in. its general programs and, last year, in its Project Asia.

The future of the Alumni Fund is promising - and as limitless as the aspirations of the College and its alumni. Fund leaders expect the Fund to reach the two-million-dollar level before Dartmouth's 1969-70 Bicentennial year.

As we observe this 50th Anniversary it is clear that the Fund has reached a level of realistic maturity which holds great promise for future growth. The Fund is firmly entrenched in the hearts of Dartmouth men, to whom it represents a vote of confidence in the College's progress and an affirmation of faith and loyalty from all members of the Dartmouth family.

Thousands of faithful contributors to theAlumni Fund will win their "D" thisyear with this anniversary certificate.

Fred A. Howland '87 1915-1918

Thomas W. Streeter '04 1921-1922

Allan L. Priddy '15 1925-1926

Frederic H. Leggett '98 1929-1930

John C. Sterling '11 1933-1934

Edward W. Knight '87 1919-1920

Clarence G. McDavitt '00 1923-1924

George M. Morris '11 1927-1928

William J. Minsch '07 1931-1932

John W. Hubbell '21 1935-1936

Sigurd S. Larmon '14 1937-1938

Harvey P. Hood '18 1941-1942

Joshua A. Davis '27 1945-1946

John R. Mason '15 1949

Kenneth M. Henderson '16 1952-1953

Sumner B. Emerson '17 1939-1940

Henry E. Atwood '13 1943-1944

Richard A. Holton '18 1947-1948

Charles J. Zimmerman 1950-1951

Roger W. Wilde '21 1954-1955

William G. Morton '28 1956-1958

John D. Dodd '22 1961-1962

Donald F. Sawyer '21 1959-1960

Charles F. Moore Jr. '25 1963-1964

This acknowledgment card with a gold 50 will go this year to some fifty alumni who havegiven to the Fund every year since it began

Homer Eaton Keyes '00 1915-1919

Russell R. Larmon '19 1920-1924

Albert I. Dickerson '30 1932-1945

Robert P. Booth '22 1925

George H. Colton '35 1946-1950

Robert C. Strong '24 1926-27, 1930-31

Nichol M. Sandoe '45 1951-1957

Sidney C. Hayward '26 1928-1929

Clifford L. Jordan Jr. '45 1958-