Just 8 percent of GW alumni donated to the University last year, the lowest number of alumni donations among GW’s 12 peer schools.
It can be easy to think that GW’s high cost of tuition could leave graduates paying off instead of paying back, but GW’s peers also have high costs of attendance, and these institutions still see higher returns from alumni. Competitive sports like football and basketball might be one factor that drives donations for some of GW’s peer schools, like the University of Southern California or Syracuse University. But not all of the University’s peer schools have elite athletic departments, and they continue to outpace GW in alumni donations.
GW’s struggle with alumni donations is not about loans or athletics – it all trickles down to whether or not students enjoyed their time at GW.
The University has made recent efforts to improve the student experience, fighting food insecurity and increasing the affordability of items like laundry and printing. But the University still does not garner the same return in alumni donations as its market basket schools, and for now, that is OK. So long as administrators continue fostering school spirit and repairing the alumni relations office, they may soon see payoff in years to come.
In the past few years, the University has experienced difficulty with alumni relations. In 2018, several GW Alumni Association board members resigned after officials planned to merge the organization with the Office of Alumni Relations, causing an independent alumni association to form. GW also saw turnover at the top of the alumni office, which might make it harder to forge long-lasting connections with alumni.
Alumni giving is a serious problem – it is factored into the methodology of the U.S. News and World Report college rankings. A lack of donations can also cripple the University’s budget because alumni donations are used to support student life, athletics and scholarships.
But boosting alumni donations takes more work than just repairing the office. Officials should set realistic expectations to improve school spirit. GW may never have the sports culture of USC or Syracuse, and GW may take more time to build up the legacy of some of its peer schools like Georgetown and Tufts universities because it was recently considered a commuter school.
The University can slowly change its perception by expanding its branding. GW is not recognized as an elite university around the country, but being a student in D.C. is a brand. Officials continue to push the narrative that GW is an opportunity for internships and a stepping stone to careers in the District when recruiting prospective students. But branding the University as a stepping stone does not help students gain pride in their school.
The alumni association also needs to be strong and organized to create lasting connections with potential donors. Until early September, the University had two different alumni associations, which could have created confusion and mistrust. Working to improve school spirit and establish firm relationships with alumni will slowly but surely boost the University’s donations.
We cannot fix campus issues that may lead to students not feeling that their experience is worth donating back to, but our peer schools with higher alumni donations do have more traditional campuses, which have more legacy. Our peer schools with higher alumni giving rates are more established universities that have more of a history, which creates a legacy of excellence that leads people to have more pride in their school.
The University cannot fix its legacy and the fundamental things that could lead to a lack of school spirit, but it can increase alumni relations and aim to raise school spirit to help students be more proud of the University when they graduate. It may not lead to a drastic change in donations overnight, but at least the University would be trying.
The editorial board is composed of Hatchet staff members and operates separately from the newsroom. This week’s piece was written by opinions editor Kiran Hoeffner-Shah and contributing opinions editor Hannah Thacker based on conversations with The Hatchet’s editorial board, which is composed of assistant copy editor Natalie Prieb, managing director Leah Potter, contributing design editor Olivia Columbus, sports editor Emily Maise and culture editor Sidney Lee.