As the originator of the Hamilton-Colgate Challenge, Director of the Annual Fund Jon Hysell '72 discussed the successful initiative with The Chronicle of Philanthropy in the publication's July 18 issue. In "Giving Takes a Beating," Hysell explained his thinking in proposing the challenge to see which institution could generate the most gift from alumni in the month of April. "It struck me in a difficult environment with daily headlines about a plummeting economy that something that might inspire fun would be helpful."
The results, and victory over Colgate, were impressive. At the end of April, 1,308 alumni had made unrestricted gifts to the College, four times the number of donors who gave in April 2008. Colgate had 1,211 donors during the competition, more than double their normal total but 97 short of the Hamilton total.
The article, which was also featured on the front page of the publication's Web site, reported that 158 alumni who hadn't made an annual fund gift in five years were prompted to give. A few more who had never contributed before, did so during the competition.
The results, and victory over Colgate, were impressive. At the end of April, 1,308 alumni had made unrestricted gifts to the College, four times the number of donors who gave in April 2008. Colgate had 1,211 donors during the competition, more than double their normal total but 97 short of the Hamilton total.
The article, which was also featured on the front page of the publication's Web site, reported that 158 alumni who hadn't made an annual fund gift in five years were prompted to give. A few more who had never contributed before, did so during the competition.
