Harvard College Fund Fails to Reach Goal Of $5 Million, but Surpasses Last Year's Total

The Harvard College Fund failed to reach its goal of $5 million for 1974-75, but exceeded all previous totals with a collection of $4,853,000.

Although officials at the Fund said last June they were unsure if the Fund would surpass last year's total of $4,821,759, donations received shortly before the June 30 cut-off date boosted the Fund above last year's figure.

"People toward the end of the fiscal year made large gifts that weren't expected," Rufus W. Peebles '61, associate director of the Fund, said yesterday.

Peebles cited shaky stock market conditions and the generally-weak state of the economy as reasons for the Fund's failure to meet its goal.

But he said that Dean Rosovsky has assured Fund officials that he is "quite happy with the Fund totals considering the economic climate that the country was in."

The Fund supplies about one-tenth of the Faculty's unrestricted income each year.

The Fund had originally projected a total of $5.5 million last November but that goal was scaled down when it became clear that it would not be met.

For the fourth consecetive year, however, the Fund managed to surpass the previous year's total.

Fund officials paid a private consultant $18,000 this year to conduct a survey of Harvard alumni to see if its fund raising methods could be improved.

Peter F. Clifton '49, executive director of the Fund, said last week that the Fund will change its techniques this year because the survey showed that its appeals must be geared more towards individual classes than to alumni as a whole.

Financial Assistance

Clifton said the survey also showed that potential contributors must be made aware that small gifts can substantially aid the Fund.

President Bok will address tha annual Harvard College Fund Assembly Friday evening at Memorial Hall and Dean Rosovsky will speak to the assembly about his educational task forces on Saturday.