Sixty-four percent of the class of 2007 contributed to the largest Senior Class Gift in Brown's history, raising a total of over $43,000 for the Brown Annual Fund.
Despite this record-breaking sum, the class of 2007 did not break the record for participation set by the class of 2005, when 68 percent of students donated.
The class of 2007's unusually high total was largely thanks to a significant personal contribution from President Ruth Simmons. Simmons announced at the senior gift campaign kickoff event in March that she would contribute $20,007 rather than her usual amount matching the seniors' graduating year - $2,005 in 2005 and $2,006 in 2006.
But even without Simmons' gift, the class of 2007 contributed more than classes from previous years - a staggering $23,281, $4,000 more than the class of 2006.
Assistant Director for Student Programs Johanna Corcoran, the staff liaison for the 2007 class gift committee, said she thought the primary reason for the lower rate of participation in 2007 was the campaign's timing. The class of 2007 did not begin campaigning for contributions until last spring.
By April, around 36 percent of the graduating class had donated or pledged to donate to the fund, but as the year drew to a close, members of the senior class continued to make contributions - even after Commencement.
"I think that we just didn't get to everyone that we could have if we had the time," Corcoran said.
The campaign for the 2008 class gift will begin this fall rather than in the spring, allowing more time for fundraising and putting less pressure on the senior class, she said.
Organization has already begun for the gift committee, and the campaign will hold its kickoff event in early November. Committee members so far are "engaged and excited," with hopes of achieving a participation level of 70 percent, Corcoran said.
