Around 400 young alumni gathered in New York last week for an event dedicated to raising support for Tufts' capital campaign "Beyond Boundaries."
Sponsored by the Young Friends of Tufts Advancement, it was held at the Stitch Bar & Lounge in the Garment District of Manhattan.
According to Max Bernstein (LA '03), one of the Young Friends' co-founders, the group aims to "compliment Tufts' Beyond Boundaries campaign in a way that appeals to the young alumni community."
To bring this community to the event, organizers relied on mediums that are attractive to the younger generation, such as Facebook.com. At the event, prizes that were given out were tailored to the age group and included tickets to "The Colbert Report" and a game between the Yankees and Red Sox.
Although the event was organized for alumni who graduated between 2001 and 2006, Vice President for University Advancement Brian Lee and Associate Director of Alumni Relations Jonathan Burton also attended, as did Chairman of the Board of Trustees James Stern (A '72).
"It was ... actually one of the biggest Jumbo gatherings that I've seen in a while," Burton said. "I just thought it was a clever and really innovative way to bring together a large number of young alumni to support Tufts and to connect with each other."
Organizers raised around $800 for the capital campaign at the event, although Bernstein said that collecting money on-site was not the primary purpose of the gathering.
"The events' success was not to be measured by the amount of money physically raised at the event," he said. "The goal of the event was to prove to young alumni that the cohesive community that defined their experience at Tufts still exists after graduation."
This experience, he said, can foster further generosity and additional campaign donations in the future.
The group held a similar event last year, but at that time the campaign was still in its quiet phase. Although it began in 2002, the public phase did not begin until November 2006.
While it is possible that other gatherings specifically dedicated to creating support among young alumni for the campaign may be held, Bernstein said that he is not aware of any concrete plans.
"There is the idea of using this event as a template for similar events in other cities, however formal talks of such are not in the works yet," he said.
Although not connected directly to other fundraising efforts, the event captured the spirit of a larger effort by alumni to donate to "Beyond Boundaries."
In October, the Alumni Council made a pledge to donate $20 million and get 100 percent support from its members. Contributions from before the announcement will count in the total figure, and the body has given itself until the end of the campaign in 2011 to reach its goal.
From the time the quiet phase started, members of the Alumni Council have donated approximately $14 million, according to Tufts Alumni Association President Sunny Breed (J '66).
She said that this pledge by the council members was the first of its kind. "This is the first time something like this has been done [by the council]," Breed said. "I hope the council continues to demonstrate this type of leadership in the future."
Alumni Council President Emeritus William O'Reilly (A '77), who helped spearhead the body's efforts, said that he is confident that the group will raise the full $20 million.
"We gave a lot of thought to the number before we chose it. We thought about what the past giving history was of people and we were confident that the members of the council would be generous," O'Reilly, who is also a trustee, said. "We wouldn't have chosen that number if we weren't optimistic that with some stretching and some effort it would be something that we would be able to achieve."
In this effort, O'Reilly hopes that the council can set the standard for other alumni who are thinking about donating.
"Since the members of the council are elected alumni leaders, we thought that [they] should step up early in the public phase of the campaign and try to set an example," he said.
