Uris Library and Jennie McGraw Tower at Cornell University.
Wednesday, March 16 marked a 24-hour long fundraising frenze called “Cornell Giving Day” when Cornell’s friends and alumni were called upon to donate to very specific causes. Giving Day is the closest thing to a free market in philanthropy where many causes were very visible in their fundraising success.
In recent years, campus militants have “demanded” that Day Hall fund various programs both on or off campus. For example, Indigenous students have demanded that Cornell turnover most of the land it owns in Tompkins County to the Cayuga nation. Similarly, in the summer of 2020, a faculty and grad student group demanded that Cornell donate millions to build a community center on the southside of Ithaca for disadvantaged youth. When such gifts are not forthcoming, campus activists use that as evidence that all Cornell alumni must be racist.
Giving Day is based upon a website that contains a separate page for each cause replete with color photos, enticing text and videos – all designed to convince a donor to choose a gift amount and then donate. Each cause can recruit matching donors or donors that release a bonus gift once a certain benchmark is reached. Competition between causes is highlighted by leaderboards and by bonus gifts when a group’s donor count exceeds last year’s total. Day Hall did try to give certain groups such as the Women’s Center more favorable placement at the top of the Student and Campus Life causes. There was also a broad category called “Diversity and Inclusion” which listed photos and links for 37 different Cornell programs seeking funds.
Giving Day is a true measure of donor intent because it funds current spending rather than big gifts that go toward endowments, multiyear projects, or deferred giving plans. Admittedly, it measures “street appeal” rather than the result of long-term cultivation and grooming by one or more of Cornell’s development officers.
Giving Day was the product of both an outside contractor (who puts on similar events at other colleges) as well as liaison managers with the Office of Alumni Affairs and Development. One manager addressed all of Student and Campus Life (including athletics) while another addressed Diversity and Inclusion fundraising. Now that all of the data is in, we can tell how the people who actually donate to pay the bills have cast their “dollar votes.” Are they “woke” or more traditional? What in their Cornell experience gave them lasting value that deserves their support?
Of the $12,269,529 total raised, $5,286,405.20 was for Athletics and Physical Education, with specific gifts being targeted to specific sports. Men’s Hockey got $214,832 from 316 donors. The women’s hockey team got $42,100 from 196 donors. Our less successful varsity football team had 118 donors give $70,596, In contrast, the Sprint Football team, which is funded only through Giving Day and does not otherwise receive Cornell funding, had 732 donors give $156,629.
Turning to residential units, Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity had 127 donors give $59,725, while Ujamaa had 41 donors give $3,810 and Akwe:kon had 22 donors give $1,853. The Latino Living Center (LLC) had 27 donors give $6,700.
The College of Arts and Sciences raised a total of $1,157,390 from 1,591 donors. A&S had 61 causes, including Africana Studies that raised $9,207 from 93 donors.
Some areas have more alumni appeal than undergraduate appeal. For example, the Cornell Botanical Gardens raised $57,122 from 282 donors, and the Laboratory for Ornithology raised $37,045 from 170 donors. Cornell Outdoor Education raised $130,418 from 290 donors, and the Johnson Art Museum got $154,979 from 206 donors.
When Day Hall looks through all the data, it is clear that alumni are enthusiastic supporters of more traditional programs, and that if left to alumni donations, woke programs would go broke.
This article was written by a Cornell alumnus that wishes to stay anonymous.
