Columbia College enjoyed another outstanding year in fundraising thanks to the generosity of the College community. The College raised $32.7 million in Fiscal Year 2012-2013 to support undergraduate education through gifts to endowed scholarships, academic awards and fellowships, student programming and to the College Fund for financial aid, internship stipends, the Core and student services.
Gifts to the College provide opportunities for learning and engagement in our classrooms, residence halls and libraries and through internships, research opportunities and co-curricular activities. They strengthen students’ experiences and lead to personal discovery, academic achievement and professional success.
This report recognizes the more than 17,000 donors to the College in addition to donors to other Columbia departments, including Arts and Sciences, Athletics and Columbia Libraries, who partner with us to provide our students an unparalleled undergraduate experience. The incredible generosity of these alumni, parents, students and friends has an incredible effect on our current students and a lasting impact inside and outside the University. We thank these donors for their dedication to our students and their continued commitment to Columbia.
Record Year for the College Fund
Under the leadership of Columbia College Fund Co-chairs Ira Malin ’75, P’12, P’17 and Michael P. Behringer ’89, the College Fund raised an impressive $17.3 million, marking more than 10 consecutive years of fundraising growth. The annual support provided by the College Fund has a great impact on our students’ overall College experience. The College Fund provides support for summer internship stipends that position students for professional success, as well as programs that bring the Core to life, services to help students excel academically and form bonds with their peers and the financial aid that makes a College education possible.
The more than 11,900 donors who made the College Fund a philanthropic priority helped the College fulfill its mission to give students the best education, a superior on-campus experience and numerous opportunities to excel after Commencement.
Giving Day and Million Reasons to Give
Columbia College was the undisputed fundraising leader during the inaugural Columbia Giving Day on October 24, 2012. In only 24 hours, more than 900 College alumni, parents, students and friends made a donation, securing the College almost an additional $100,000 in matching funds from University trustees for a total of $1.2 million. Members of the College community demonstrated their commitment again in the spring with 2,478 donors contributing more than $1 million during April’s Million Reasons to Give fundraising campaign, earning Columbia College an additional $1 million in matching funds from an anonymous donor.
Alumni Reunion Weekend
The College not only set the bar for the rest of the University, but also broke records within the College. In honor of its 30th reunion, the Class of 1983 set a 30th reunion record, raising $628,841, while the Class of 1963 broke the record for a 50th reunion gift by raising $1.98 million in unrestricted support (beating the previous record by $850,000). In total, the Class of 1963 donated more than $6 million in gifts and received pledges from almost 200 classmates. The Class of 1988 shattered all records by presenting the largest reunion gift in Columbia history: $2.7 million in unrestricted support and $19.88 million in total gifts.
Seniors
The Class of 2013 demonstrated its appreciation for the College by raising more than $25,000 — the most of any Senior Fund in Columbia College history. Of the 750 seniors who contributed, 293 signed on to Dean James J. Valentini’s “3-2-1 Challenge,” which asks graduating students to donate for three years, to encourage two of their friends to give and to have their gifts matched one to one by an alumnus.