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Show Him the Money
November/December 2005
by Kathrin Day Lassila ’81

The Yale Alumni Magazine regularly holds a conversation with Yale president Rick Levin ’74PhD to provide a forum in which alumni can learn his views. In this issue, Levin talks about fund-raising.

Y: Yale is in the “silent” phase of another capital campaign, before the public announcement. But it’s actually been fairly loud.

L: It would be hard to keep the campaign a secret until fall 2006, when we’re planning a public launch. The population of loyal, substantial donors we’re talking with is large.

Y: Most of Yale’s funding comes from alumni, and most of that comes from very wealthy alumni. The former vice president for development has said that Yale used to raise 80 percent of its money from 20 percent of its donors, but that now it’s 90 percent of the money from 10 percent of the donors. Is that true?

L: Yes. There has been tremendous wealth creation in this country, and the possibility of attracting very large gifts has grown. We are fortunate that so many of our wealthiest alumni are extraordinarily generous, but we are also proud of the breadth of alumni support. We want the entire family of Yale alumni to participate as donors and to feel that they are stakeholders in the institution. Our annual rates of participation are over 40 percent; over any five-year period, it’s about 70 percent.

Y: Yet many alumni who are not wealthy question whether Yale needs their donations at all. There are alumni who say, “Why should I give to Yale? Why shouldn’t I give to a smaller charity where my gift will make more of a difference?”

L: There are many worthy causes, and we should be proud that Yale alumni play leadership roles all over the country in supporting charitable organizations and working in nonprofits. It’s a phenomenal record and should be encouraged. But I don’t see this type of involvement as a competing priority. A gift to Yale, even a small one, is a sign that one supports a great institution and the values it stands for. It is a sign of commitment and affiliation. Alumni who feel that sense of participation are by far our best ambassadors to the wider world.

And every dollar matters. Producing a great education—retaining eminent faculty committed to teaching and providing such wonderful facilities—takes a lot of money. The actual cost of a Yale education is double the term bill. And it’s expensive to stay at the frontier of research. We need donations for another reason as well. Most of our endowment is restricted to supporting specific activities identified by past donors. To have the flexibility to innovate, to take on new challenges, we need new resources.

Y: You’ve raised a lot of money for Yale. I’ve heard a couple of theories on campus about how you do this—for instance, that you’re able to offer donors very specific plans. But what do you think makes a successful fund-raiser?

L: I think you have to be, first of all, a good listener. Individual donors see philanthropy as a means of self-expression. They want to be generous, they want to do good for others—but also they want to support something they feel passionate about. You have to listen to understand how a particular type of gift might be a very satisfying experience for a particular donor. For instance, some people develop an interest in an area of scholarship late in life—an interest you wouldn’t predict from reading their résumé.

The other essential attribute of a good fund-raiser is passion. Loving Yale and knowing a lot about the different things Yale can do is a huge asset.

Y: Let’s talk for a moment about goals. What will the campaign funds go to?

L: The main difference between this campaign and our last one is the degree to which we are seeking money to move Yale forward, as opposed to repairing it. This campaign will continue with the renovations begun in the 1990s, but it also calls for new facilities: a new drama school facility, a new history of art building, new science buildings, new medical facilities, a new home for the School of Management.

We are seeking, as always, financial aid endowment, but not just for the traditional financial aid program. We also want to endow three new commitments. For undergraduates, we have eliminated the parental contribution for the lowest-income families. We have also committed to fund study and summer work overseas for students on financial aid.

And we are committed to increasing the financial aid awarded by all the professional schools whose graduates do not, on average, earn high incomes—art, music, drama, architecture, forestry, divinity, and nursing. All of those schools give less aid than the college and graduate school, and the idea of taking on $50,000 to $60,000 of debt is daunting if you are going to be an artist or work in an environmental nonprofit.

Y: So you have mobilized a phalanx of deans to raise money for their schools. You also have a policy for many of the schools—if they want a new facility they have to raise half the money themselves. You’re willing to push people, which is the other point people on campus make about your ability to raise funds. One of the hardest things in fund-raising is to actually ask the donor for the money at the end of the meeting. But you’re willing to ask, and even to say, “That’s not enough. We need more.”

L: (Laughs.) I’m not bashful. Of course, people say no all the time. Some donors are going to be ready to give, and some aren’t. But it’s very rare that someone is insulted because you think they can give more. They are mostly flattered. And most donors understand that their donations are the means by which the university continually improves itself.  

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