Wharton values alumni donations for Making History goal

Penn may have made history last Friday, but Wharton’s personal fundraising goal has yet to be met.

The Wharton School has raised $480 million of its $550 million Making History goal. The campaign for Wharton, which raises money for faculty research, student support and campus facilities among other initiatives, will end in December 2012.

While Penn President Amy Gutmann announced that the University met its $3.5 billion school-wide goal, Wharton hopes to raise 13 percent of its goal in the next year.

Earlier this month, 1986 Wharton graduate Bruce Jacobs and 1982 graduate Kenneth Levy donated $12 million to the campaign. The Jacobs Levy donation will create a finance research center and fund an annual research prize.

Associate Dean of External Affairs Samuel Lundquist said that although their generosity was “remarkable,” it was also typical of a lot of gifts the school receives that are explicitly targeted towards supporting academics.

Since students’ tuition only covers about half the cost of a Wharton education, Lundquist said the school relies on gifts from graduates for funding.

He added that many graduates who received financial aid give back to Wharton. “They’re able to say: I couldn’t have gone to Wharton if I hadn’t received scholarship support,” he said, adding that many wish to give back to the scholarship fund so that future students can have the same opportunities they had.

But L. David Mounts, a member of the Wharton Alumni Executive Board, believes that donations don’t just begin after graduation.

For Mounts, students should “get involved in supporting and building the [Wharton] brand from [their] first day on campus.”

Wharton senior and Penn Fund Co-Chairman Harris Heyer, a former Daily Pennsylvanian advertising representative, said it is important that students learn about future donation opportunities while at Penn.

“It is more likely that they will give back to the University after college … if they’ve been educated about it while on campus,” he said.

For Heyer, donations are not about the dollar amount but about participation. Mounts also stressed the importance of making a personal sacrifice towards one’s alma mater.

“For a gift to really mean something for the giver… it has to come with some level of personal sacrifice,” he said.

“Large donations are extremely inspiring [but] each person is in a position to give [to the University] and be good stewards of the Wharton brand,” he added.

Since half of what students gain from Wharton relies on gifts, donations “allow the absolute finest education experience that can be obtained anywhere,” he added.

Mount works with the Class Ambassador Program which keeps alumni close to Wharton and helps to encourage donations.

“We all have a vested interest in preserving Wharton’s brand,” Mount said.

Lundquist added that there is a “sense of pride and truly wanting to give back” among alumni.

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