Class of 2002 sets fundraising record

The Class of 2002 raised a record-breaking total of approximately $27,000 for the Senior Fund last year and attained the highest-ever percentage of graduate participation for the campaign.

The Senior Fund Committee, composed of seniors from various campus organizations and athletics groups, coordinates the yearly fundraising initiative, and the money the group collects is donated as a parting gift to the University.

Another group, the Senior Leadership Corps, decides how the funds will be distributed each year. Recently the bulk of the money has been donated to the Annual Fund, which uses the money for scholarships, salaries, and bill payments. The Committee will be under new guidance this year because of the departure of its former leader, Dean of Academic Services and Student Affairs Kristine Dillon.

An estimated 640 seniors participated in the fundraiser, which achieved a 51 percent giving rate. "[Last year] was the best year, as percentages are concerned, that we have ever had," Tufts Fund Assistant Director Ben Foster said.

The success of the Senior Fund can be attributed to a number of factors, according the work of Foster. It "is a tribute to every graduate who was on the Senior Fund Committee," he said. "They did a great job of advertising for the Fund by planning events, proper solicitation, and stressing the importance of this to their class members."

After the fundraising was complete, a recognition ceremony took place with the presentation of a check for over $27,000.

The average senior contributed to the fund with a gift of $10 dollars, according to Foster. The monetary range ran from $5 to the largest gift from a sole student of one hundred dollars. Aside from students, some parents, alumni, faculty, and staff members took part in the fundraiser.

The committee used various marketing campaigns, especially using campus publications and e-mail to contact members of the senior class.

Many of the events and activities that raised money for the fund were also co-sponsored by the Senior Fund's sister committee, the committee for Senior Week. The Senior Fund and Senior Week committees fall under the umbrella group of the Senior Leadership Corps. Ticket sales for Senior Week events also went to the Senior Fund.

The Senior Week events vary from year to year, according to Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate Historian Chair Alison Clarke and Senate Treasurer Ben Lee

"In the past there have been trips to Jillian's (in Boston) and a boat trip from Boston Harbor," they said. What happens this year "is pretty much up to the Committee."

This year's Committee remains unsure of what the class of 2003 will be doing for the Senior Fund and Senior Week. The first meeting of the Senior Leadership Corps will be held next Friday.

Foster and others within the Tufts Fund and the Office of Development are optimistic that this year will also be a strong one for the Senior Fund. "The Class of 2003 is an enthusiastic one," he said. "They can do a good job and we believe they can reach the level of the class of 2002.