30 Years of Growth: The Harvard Fund

Last week at the Harvard Fund's thirtieth anniversary dinner, the Class of 1930 gave a check for $285,000 to the President and Fellows of Harvard College. It is a sizable amount, representing 25 years of fund-raising efforts in that particular class. And yet it is not an unusually large sum; indeed, in the immediate future, each 25th Reunion class will probably give the College no less an amount, and very likely a little more.

Just Wait

Virtually all the organizational work for these appeals for money is centered in Wadsworth House, the home of the Fund. Few undergraduates have probably heard of the Fund; but none will be out of College for any length of time without gaining a considerably better knowledge of its activities. While these activities, may prove irksome to the young, impecunious graduate, they are extremely important for the College. In the 30 years of its existence, the Fund has contributed $8,000,000 to its unrestricted endowment and, at the present rate, will add $800,000 each year. Since of the $229,000,000 in the Harvard endowment only $39,000,000 lie in the unrestricted area, the role the Fund has played in the development of the financial potentialities of the College is obvious.

These figures are also indicative of strong bonds which attach most alumni to the College--an attachment which can be plainly shown in the dollars and cents contributed to the Harvard Fund.

The Harvard Fund Council came into existence in 1925, when a group of graduates, led by Joseph R. Hamlen '04, decided that there should be a permanent fund dedicated to the raising of unrestricted money for the general needs of the College. Hamlen became the Fund's first chairman, and David McCord '21 filled the position of Executive Secretary. McCord has remained with the Council ever since, as have two others in his office, A. Winnefred Preble and Marion L. Anderson.

Inefficient Campaigns

Before the Fund was founded, all Harvard's free gifts came from bequests and wills of wealthy alumni. Occasionally, when there was a pressing necessity for money, an alumni canvass would be organized. Several of these were made in the late 1910's and early 1920's to raise teachers' salaries. One of them, in 1919, produced close to $13,000,000, but many graduates felt that a constant flow of unrestricted funds would be much better than periodic, inefficient campaigns which occurred only in times of serious emergency.

It was natural that the 25th reunion found should become the backbone of the annual alumni drive, since by 1925 each twenty-five-year class was giving $150,000 to the College. The custom of giving such a large lump sum began officially in 1906 when the Class of 1881 totalled $117,000. An unofficial move in that direction was made two years earlier, however, when the Class of 1879 raised almost $100,000 for the construction of a new football stadium. The following year, the Class of 1880 achieved about the same amount and designated it for specific purposes.

The final step was made in 1906 when the money raised was placed in the unrestricted category. The $100,000 level remained until 1923 when the Class of 1896 increased the contribution to $150,000.

Under the Harvard Fund, which took over the management of the 25-year gift in 1925, the mechanics of the drives was improved. Each year the donations from various members of the classes would be placed in a bank to accumulate interest towards the final campaign goal. At the end of the twenty-five year period, the total accumulation would represent the classes' reunion donation.

Over the past thirty years, the reunion gift has gradually grown, although it did experience a drop back to the $100,000 level during the depression years. In the last two years, the classes of 1929 and 1930 have given approximately $300,000 each, even though they were originally the "depression classes" which first claimed they were too poor to contribute much to their reunion fund. Present figures indicate that the Class of 1931 is well on its way to reaching the $300,000 goal for next year.

The steady increase in the size of the gift has been entirely a product of the initiative of each individual class. The Fund Council office never puts pressure of a class in the last stages of its campaign. The size of the goal and the amount of the final donation is determined by the class itself. McCord feels that in this matter, the relations between the Fund and the alumni remain much more relaxed and cordial. In the long run the College profits more than it would with high-pressure techniques.

Match Lamont

One of the Fund's most important achievements was made through its most atypical action. In 1946, Thomas W. Lamont '92 gave the College $1,500,000 for the construction of a new library to supplement the inadequate Widener undergraduate facilities. With costs rising after the war, this sum was not nearly enough, and the Harvard Fund was asked if it would devote its next few drives to matching Lamont's figure.

The Fund accepted the challenge and abandoned its attempts to raise unrestricted funds for three years. All money, except what was designated for 25th-year gifts, went towards the proposed library. Even special donations from 25-year campaigns were accepted. For $10,000 a graduate could dedicate, with a bronze plaque, one of the book-collection alcoves to the memory of a relative. The College also took the reunion gifts from the Classes of 1921, 1922, and 1923 using them to exceed the original $1,500,000 goal by several hundred thousand dollars.

Besides its primary role of fund-raising, the Fund Council office also acts as a sort of informal public relations center. Until recently, when the College started a special office for this purpose, McCord's mailbox was one of the only areas for graduate opinion. McCord makes it a point to answer all letters personally and deal with as many alumni as he possibly can.

When Edwin Ginn '18 resigned as class agent because of the appointment of J. Robert Oppenheimer '26 as William James Lecturer for 1957, McCord spoke with him at some length about the problem and tried to convince Ginn that the one event such as a year's appointment should not make him forget all the other things which made him proud of Harvard.

He Stood Firm

Ginn stood firm on his decision, however, and surrendered his post as class agent. Incidents like this are few, McCord points out, but nevertheless regrettable. In his work, he tries to ironout such difficulties before they attain a certain notoriety.

At the other extreme of public relations, McCord received the following message several years ago: "My friends of the Fund I greatly fear/ I cannot be dunned/ For another year/ It now costs me/ Five thousand dollars/ To make children three/ From books to scholars/ Of this large sum/ Old Harvard fair/ To teach my son/ Now gets her share/ So I ask ye/ At this costly time/ Please patient be/ Till I have a dime."

An ex-president of the Lampoon, McCord was not at a loss for words. He replied: "Dear Mr. Griscom/ You are good/ Your Pax Vobiscum/ Is understood/ Your children three/ Will soon be scholars/ Till then your free/ No duns for dollars/ For even we'll/ Remember that/ It isn't leal/ To pass the hat/ Until your boy/ Has got his growth/ What then: O joy/ We'll get you both."

Another function of the Fund Council office is to keep the graduate up to date on the happenings in the College. The annual pamphlets, explaining current Fund activities, often include sections with reports on progress within the College. By performing this service, the alumni office makes the graduate feel that he still is a part of the College and can play an active role in her future.

The actual mechanics of the Fund rest with the class agents. Most of them come from the Boston-Cambridge area, since they must work quite closely with Wadsworth House. McCord tries to know each of his agents personally--he has dealt with 318 of them, spanning 101 years--and thus increasing the Fund's efficiency.

Agents must solicit everyone in their classes, including those to whom the term "graduate" is loosely applied, namely anyone who has spent more than six months in the College. This canvassing involves many hours of writing letters, keeping records of funds received, and attending necessary meetings.

The efficiency of the class agent has a great effect on the success of his class in relationship to the rest of the Fund. The Class of 1943 has only one agent, David Place, but nevertheless it has consistently led the Fund in the number-of-men-contributing category and in contributing percentage.

The success of any drive can only be determined by the final tabulation of statistics. And this year the Fund broke its previous high of $704,000 as a total of 18,585 graduates gave $807,412 for an average gift of $43.45. These figures represent a ten-dollar increase in average gift in two years, plus a record 41.7 percent of the total graduate body which gave in 1955. This performance raised the overall thirty-year figures, so that now 36,000 out of 44,000 graduates--82 percent--have given $8,000,000 to the College.

The Harvard Fund must finally depend on the relationship between the College and the graduate. In maintaining this relationship, McCord attempts to foster a friendly, relaxed attitude between his office and the graduates. Emphasis in the letters lie on the academic rather than the athletic. Complaints and compliments are gratefully received and get a personal reply from McCord because he feels that "if a man cares enough about his college to give, he should feel free to complain or offer suggestion."

Largely because of this attitude, the alumnus feels that he is considered as an individual, not a sum of money. It makes him more ready to accept the fact that grants of large corporations cannot alone support the College and that he must do his share to carry the load. Thus, although the 1955 fund ended in December, and the 1956 drive does not begin until April, 230 graduates have already mailed in $30,000 without being solicited.

Why does the graduate give so willingly? Here are some of the answers which McCord has received in his correspondence:

"So that others may enjoy what we once enjoyed."

"Aware of the tremendous debt I owe to Harvard."

"The institution represents one of the great achievements of American democracy."

Perhaps the most common reason for giving to the Fund was expressed in a talk by Edward Streeter '14, author of Father of the Bride. "Although the graduate's memories will differ in detail, they will be basically similar to mine, and he will sigh with regret that an era so good, so rich, so colorful, so filled with giants and genius and laughter, should have passed away forever--and then he will fumble in the lower drawer of his desk for his checkbook.