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AROUND THE QUADSCollege Fund Leaders
Alumni leaders in classes celebrating reunions in 2007 participate in a discussion about their special interests. 
More than 160 dedicated alumni, students and parents gathered for the fifth annual Columbia College Fund Leadership Conference in Low Library and Hamilton Hall on September 9. The day was devoted to informing and training the College volunteer leaders — Class Agents — on the importance of annual giving to the Columbia College Fund. “We’re really building a culture of giving at Columbia,” declared Geoffrey J. Colvin ’74, former chair of the fund and current chair of the Fund Development Council, who noted an increase of nearly 25 percent in the past three years alone to $11.26 million raised in 2005–06. Colvin also described several indices of what he called “customer satisfaction” with the College: Senior Fund participation climbed to a record 83.5 percent, Young Alumni participation has grown slowly but steadily in recent years and Parents Fund giving soared past $1 million for the first time. Dean Austin Quigley, who addressed the volunteers at lunch, emphasized the importance of giving to the College Fund even as the University launches a new capital campaign. “Annual funds provide the margin for excellence, the vehicle for change to help us get better,” he said.
Volunteer leaders from the Classes of 1955–63 gather for a discussion in the Burden Room in Low Library. Photos: Alex Sachare '71
A key fund-raising element that has grown exponentially in recent years is the Class Agent Program, in which volunteer leaders in each class are identified and trained in fund-raising techniques. Ira Malin ’75 chairs the program and Michael Foss ’03 co-chairs. “Our goal is increasing the number of alumni involved in peer-to-peer solicitation, which is the most effective kind,” said Malin. Following an Alumni Leadership Seminar focusing on best practices in volunteer fundraising facilitated by Laura Goodwin of the Osborne Group, attendees broke into smaller groups for more focused discussion about effective fundraising techniques and the Class Agent Program. Each attendee received a comprehensive Solicitation Guide for Volunteers, prepared by the alumni office.
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