Annual Fund FAQs
1. What is the Cornell Annual Fund?
2. What is the difference between an annual gift to Cornell and a gift to the Cornell Annual Fund?
3. How much is raised each year through the Annual Fund, and how are these gifts used?
4. Why are gifts to the Annual Fund so important to Cornell?
5. What is the impact of Annual Fund gifts on the university?
6. How does Cornell measure up to its peers in annual fund giving?
7. How do Annual Fund gifts fit into Far Above … The Campaign for Cornell?
8. Does my gift really matter?
9. How can I make a gift to the Annual Fund?
10. How can I support the Annual Fund in addition to giving my own Annual Fund gift?
1. What is the Cornell Annual Fund?
The Cornell Annual Fund raises annual, unrestricted support for the university and its colleges, professional schools, and units such as the Cornell Library. The fund comprises thousands of gifts of all sizes every year.
2. What is the difference between an annual gift to Cornell and a gift to the Cornell Annual Fund?
Gifts to the Cornell Annual Fund are unrestricted, current-use gifts that can be designated to any of the funds you see listed on the pledge card you receive each year.
The full value of every gift is spent when and where it is needed most. Other kinds of gifts can be made on an annual basis, but they serve different purposes. For example, restricted gifts provide funding for a purpose chosen by the donor and cannot be used for anything else. A gift to the endowment benefits Cornell forever, but only a portion of the investment income that it generates can be spent each year.
3. How much is raised each year through the Annual Fund, and how are these gifts used?
Gifts to the Annual Fund in 2009 reached $24.4 million. The provost, deans, and unit directors use the funds they receive to invest strategically where they see the greatest needs or the greatest opportunities. For example, Annual Fund dollars may bring a noted speaker to campus, provide a stipend for a postdoctoral student, purchase library books, provide start-up funds for a new professorship, repair worn lab equipment, or give seed money to a collaborative research project between the Ithaca campus and Weill Cornell Medical College. The beauty of the Annual Fund is that it can meet any need.
4. Why are gifts to the Annual Fund so important to Cornell?
The Annual Fund supports every student, in every study, every year. Without the flexibility the Annual Fund provides, Cornell could not be as agile, responsive, and creative as it is today. When an opportunity to do something extraordinary comes up, the Annual Fund is what gives Cornell’s leaders the ability to say “yes.” For example, Annual Fund dollars have gone toward renovating laboratory spaces, supporting Minority Student Mentoring Program initiatives, and helping Cornell recruit sought-after new faculty.
5. What is the impact of Annual Fund gifts on the university?
It’s enormous. It would take more than $530 million of unrestricted endowment to generate the annual spending power of gifts to the Cornell Annual Fund.
6. How does Cornell measure up to its peers in annual fund giving?
Not nearly as well as we would like. The Cornell Annual Fund ranks near the bottom when compared to the rest of the Ivy League, Stanford, and MIT. This disparity combined with a comparatively modest endowment means that Cornell is less able than its peers to provide financial support for the present and future needs of students, faculty, facilities, programs, and outreach. With Far Above … The Campaign for Cornell, we expect to dramatically narrow this gap and meet a host of strategic priorities through increased giving to the Annual Fund.
7. How do Annual Fund gifts fit into Far Above … The Campaign for Cornell?
Strengthening the Annual Fund is a major priority of the campaign and a powerful way for all Cornellians to contribute to the success of their alma mater. Our goal is to double the Annual Fund by the time the campaign ends in December 2011. This would provide Cornell with the annual spending power of more than $700 million in unrestricted endowment. To achieve this ambitious goal, Cornell is asking every donor to make a new or increased commitment to the Cornell Annual Fund. All Annual Fund gifts count toward the campaign goal. Of course, donors may also choose to give a special or designated gift to the campaign.
8. Does my gift really matter?
The Cornell Annual Fund relies on gifts at all levels to raise the funds that are needed. In fact, 75 percent of unrestricted gifts to Cornell are for $250 or less. Every gift really does count!
9. How can I make a gift to the Annual Fund?
It’s easy. Just respond to one of our mailings or phonathon calls, give online at www.alumni.cornell. edu/fund, or through our toll-free phone line, 800.279.3099.
10. How can I support the Annual Fund in addition to giving my own Annual Fund gift?
Volunteer. The Annual Fund relies on more than 1,000 dedicated alumni, parents, students, and friends each year to encourage and recognize Annual Fund support. To find out more about volunteering for the Annual Fund, call 800.279.3099 or e-mail cornell_fund@cornell.edu.
