The Class of '46 decided to create a student endowment, and in so doing have set a trend that is drawing the attention of other alumni classes as well as university departments and faculties that are reaching landmark dates.
"We are hoping that the idea of providing scholarship funds will be adopted by future classes when they hold their reunions," said Dick Caldecott, a member of the Class of '46 and a former dean of the College of Biological Sciences at the University of Minnesota.
UBC Annual Fund Manager Geraldine Dunnigan said the interest graduates and departments have shown in creating endowments to mark occasions such as reunions and anniversaries prompted the addition of an Anniversary Giving category to the Annual Fund campaign. Other Annual Fund appeals include the Alumni Appeal, the Parents Appeal, the Class Act Appeal, the Faculty and Staff Appeal and the Wesbrook Appeal.
"Anniversary Giving not only helps to immortalize classes, it can also serve to commemorate milestones of different faculties and departments on campus," Dunnigan said.
The Engineering Physics Program celebrates its 50th anniversary next year and is planning a gift to mark the occasion.
Last year's Annual Fund campaign raised $1.5 million and student callers have already started making a dent in this year's campaign goal of $1.6 million. The deans of four faculties have joined forces with their students in contacting faculty alumni as part of the Alumni Appeal. Last year 17,600 alumni contributed $6.8 million to UBC, with 16,000 of those alumni giving more than $1 million through the Annual Fund.
To encourage more donors at leadership levels, the Annual Fund has introduced two new annual levels of recognition: the Trekkers level, for donors who give between $250 and $499, and the Clock Tower Circle for gifts of $500 to $999. So far more than a dozen new faculty and staff donors have joined the Annual Fund at the Trekkers level.