During the past 10 years, alumni, parents and friends have contributed over $25.4 million to the Annual Fund, helping Pomona pay for some of its most pressing needs.
The Power of Annual Giving
Does a list that includes art exhibits, faculty salaries, student research opportunities, financial aid, books, need-blind admissions, electricity, academic programs, residential life, landscaping, piano-tuning, beakers and computers sound like a complete inventory of college expenses? These are just a few of the essentials that the Annual Fund helps provide for every year, according to Rich Watkins, Pomona's director of annual giving.
As a key objective of The Campaign for Pomona College, the Annual Fund's goal is to raise $13 million and increase yearly alumni participation to more than 50 percent. Since the launch of the Campaign, over $10.5 million has been raised from almost 13,000 donors; and alumni participation in the fund has risen from 40 percent to 48.5 percent. 
The power of gifts to the Annual Fund lies partly in their immediate impact, Watkins explains. Gifts to the fund are expended within the same fiscal year they are received, giving sustenance to Pomona's "checkbook" and providing resources for its highest priorities--student scholarships, the faculty and facilities.
"Each year, the College spends only a portion of the income earned from its endowment--about five percent--ensuring that Pomona continues to prosper," he says. "By contrast, gifts to the Annual Fund are available immediately, dollar-for-dollar. Thus, a $10,000 gift to the Annual Fund would have to be replaced by a $200,000 gift to endowment to generate the same amount of spendable revenue in a given year."
According to Richard Fass, vice president for planning, annual giving has become increasingly crucial in the past 10 years due to a dramatic rise in Pomona's operating costs--primarily in relation to these ongoing commitments:
* meeting 100 percent of the financial need of all students; and admitting students without regard to their financial means;
* building and enhancing information technology capacity; and
* catching up on deferred maintenance; and modernizing academic and residential facilities.
"Expenses are financed through a combination of sources, such as revenues from tuition, fees and room and board; as well as gifts and endowment," says Fass. However, he notes, student fees cover only 60 percent of the College's operating expenses. To make up the difference, Pomona relies on its endowment for 31 percent, annual gifts and grants for six percent and miscellaneous sources for three percent.
For the 1999-2000 fiscal year, Pomona's annual operating budget is $76 million, which covers all educational expenses and room and board for approximately 1,525 students--or about $50,000 per student.
"We are fortunate that Pomona is blessed with loyal alumni, parents, friends, faculty, staff and students who choose to invest in the College," says Watkins. "But resources must grow for Pomona to fulfill its mission. The Campaign for Pomona College is not about maintaining, but enhancing."
About 70 percent of the College's alumni have made a gift during the past five years; yet the annual participation rate during this period has averaged 45 percent. Class participation typically surges during a reunion year. "We appreciate that alumni rally around our reunion class gift initiative, as we see increased gifts and first-time donors," Watkins says. "We realize that not everyone can maintain this higher level of giving, but we hope alumni understand that each and every year is a time to give to Pomona--we depend on their ongoing support."
"Unlike schools that Pomona is compared to--such as Amherst and Williams--our annual fund is modest in size, as is our alumni participation rate," Watkins notes. Participation rates are important, he adds, for a number or reasons. "Foundations consider alumni participation rates when making major gifts to colleges and universities. And college guidebooks, such as Barron's, Fiske and U.S. News & World Report, use alumni participation rates as their sole criterion to assess alumni satisfaction. Every gift, even if modest, has an immediate and important impact."
"Each of us is called upon in our communities to support a range of causes, all with compelling needs," Watkins adds. "We hope every alumnus, parent and friend of the College agrees that each year, Pomona has earned their support."
--Linda Moffa
