Senior Gift Offers Perks to Big Donors

It's about planting the seed, priming the pump, getting in on the ground floor. Harvard's Senior Gift is small compared to the University's $2.1 billion Capital Campaign in the amount of donors and money it brings in.

Its leaders say senior gift is less about money now and more about creating a habit of giving that will pay off when today's graduates are tomorrow's self-made philanthropists.

But apparently Harvard is in the habit of betting a little bit more on some seniors.

And in order to find those seniors willing to give far more than the $10 minimum, it employs a committee presided over by, among others, the president of the Porcellian Club, willing to work through elite networks which the College normally spends four years ignoring.

The Leadership Gift Committee (LGC) is far from improper under College rules, but it is not publicly advertised and appears nowhere in the training materials for senior gift solicitors. It is, however, open to anyone--along with the cocktail party in New York which it offers as a reward for a $250 gift.

And thus in the shadows of the senior gift this program creates an impression that the College is embarrassed of one of its most potentially productive pump-priming methods.

Soliciting Gifts

The senior gift works publicly through House representatives, who ask for a $10 minimum gift from seniors. This year's goal for senior participation was set at 70 percent, and though it stands now at only 58 this is a vast improvement over last year's 33 percent.

According to Jonathan C. Locker '99, one of two student chairs of the Senior Gift Committee (SGC), the SGC's purpose "is to teach students about unrestricted giving and the importance of philanthropy at Harvard and beyond."

The Leadership Gift Committee (LGC) is a small subcommittee under the auspices of the SGC dedicated to soliciting donations of more than $250, the benchmark for the "leadership gift," from members of the senior class.

According to Katheryn K. Hogan, a development associate and head of the senior gift, the LGC has been around for more than 20 years and was started by students.

The LGC solicitors are able to choose who they want to approach.

LGC members select individuals who they are comfortable soliciting, says SGC Co-chair Ann E. Schneider '99.

"We meet together as a committee to see who would be best equipped to speak with certain people," says Lauren S. Charno '99.

This often means that those with famous last names, wealthy students and more Harvard-spirited seniors are singled out for LGC solicitation.

The heads of the LGC are Edward M. Tate '99, Laura B. Zukerman '99, and Stephanie C. Field '99. Their connections to old money could be strong: Tate is a past president of the Porcellian club, and Field is a descendant of retail giant and Harvard alumnus Marshall Field.

Mitchell B. Weiss '99, who was approached for an LGC gift by Locker himself, says the solicitation was couched as a personal plea from a friend.

"If someone had approached me and asked for just an average gift, I might not have given it a second thought," Weiss says.

He did not end up giving the full $250 gift.

The main reward offered for a $250 gift is a cocktail party in New York City, at which the large-money donors are able to partake in schmoozing and imbibing.

"Would that be a motivating factor?" Weiss asks, noting that it did not influence his decision. "I don't think [it would be] for anyone."

Leadership givers also have a bookplate in Harvard's library system given in their honor. Those seniors who gave more than $250 without LGC prompting were also rewarded with these perks.

Not Widely Known

Though Charno says the LGC is not a mystery, several rank-and-file SGC members say they have never been officially told about the committee or from whom it solicits money.

"We had senior gift training but there was never anything said about it in any of the official senior gift events by any of the people in charge," says Quincy House solicitor Daniel J. Epstein '99.

Still, solicitors say, the committee's tactics are not far out of the ordinary--the entire gift relies on seniors convincing their friends and peers to give as much as they are able.

"I hadn't heard about it, but I'm not surprised," says Michael K. Titelbaum '99, who was not on the SGC.

SGC solicitors say they had heard rumors about how LGC agents were chosen and told to operate.

"What I have heard is that they recruited heavily from people in final clubs and legacy people and people who had more money," Epstein says. "That they recruited heavily from groups like [those] in order to get to those social groups of students better."

But Locker maintains that the LGC members are not making a list of wealthy seniors.

"There is this wide belief that the Harvard College Fund goes through and picks people, but that is not true," Locker says.

The special solicitation and reward of large donors is common practice among universities in general and Harvard in particular.

"That's how Harvard sustains itself anyway--through large sums of money given by people who have it," says Dana P. Bennett '99, a solicitor in Leverett House.

Harvard is starting a bit early--before most donors could be expected to make money in their own right--but so far it doesn't seem to have ruffled many feathers.

"Identifying individuals who might make larger contributions is an important and necessary part of any fundraising campaign," Schneider says.

"Ultimately, every senior gift volunteer is working toward the same goal," she adds.