Posted in the basement, known as the student call center, is a sign with the heading "Fundraising in an Uncertain Economic Climate."
"Many alumni, parents and friends have expressed concern about how the current global financial crisis is affecting Brown," the sign warns, before giving more detailed advice to callers.
With less than five months remaining in the 2009 fiscal year, only $12.8 million of a $36 million goal has been raised for the fund, said Tammie Ruda, executive director of annual giving.
Though the fund was only 4 percent behind the previous year's pace as of Dec. 31, according to a Jan. 27 e-mail to the community from President Ruth Simmons, an economy in recession may make it difficult to reach an ambitious, $36 million goal that would seek to beat last year's haul by almost $1 million.
The Campaign for Academic Enrichment has identified the progress of the Annual Fund as its main focus, said Ronald Vanden Dorpel MA'71, senior vice president for University advancement. Simmons wrote in her e-mail that "any reduction in the Fund total by fiscal year end will mean a dollar-for-dollar reduction in our operating budget."
The Annual Fund, if it reaches its goal, would supply 7percent of the University's operating budget, according to Ruda.
Despite the current pace, Ruda said she is "pretty pleased" with Annual Fund giving so far. Gifts to the fund are heaviest in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, with considerable donations coming in during May and June, she said. Over $9.5 million was raised for the Annual Fund during the month of June alone last year, according to the fund's Web site.
"We're still pushing very hard to reach this goal," Ruda said.
The Annual Fund is an unrestricted pool of money that goes directly toward the operating budget. An expected 10 percent decline in the amount raised through the Fund and other "annual fund-raising efforts" would reduce operating revenues by $4 million, according to Simmons' e-mail.
But the estimated reduction - based on an examination of recent trends - is minor, according to Vanden Dorpel, when compared to that expected by many peer schools, some of which expect 17 or 18 percent decreases from last year, he said.
He said that the Office of Advancement has not yet seen large numbers of layoffs, but its workers have seen their bonuses cut. The office will wait for more data before making conclusive statements, he added.
"We don't want to make (the reduction) a self-fulfilling prophecy," he said. "We're still full steam ahead, all systems go."
Though negative feedback from potential donors has not been "overwhelming," he said, the breadth of the economic downturn cannot be ignored.
"We all read the newspapers," he said.
The Campaign for Academic Enrichment has raised $1.317 billion to date - over 94 percent of its $1.4 billion goal. The Office of Advancement hopes to meet that goal by June 30, though officially the deadline remains December 2010.
"A campaign is a marathon, not a sprint," Vanden Dorpel said, adding that the University is destined to "hit a wall" and struggle at points, despite "coming out of the blocks very strong."
Vanden Dorpel said that the idea of raising the goal to $1.7 billion was "toyed" with as late as last year, though the plan was never formalized.
The Office of Advancement increased its staff by 15 to 20 percent at the start of the campaign, according to Vanden Dorpel, and hopes to keep those individuals on staff even after the campaign concludes. "Reducing staff is a mistake the University made after its last two campaigns," he said, adding that gains in fundraising revenue during campaign years need to be maintained for the University to function at a high level.
"The best measures of success is how we do against all goals we have set for ourselves," Vanden Dorpel said.
