As the University’s 2011 fiscal year came to a close on June 30, the number of young alumni donations is up 10 percent, and the class of 2010 is leading the pack.

“This has been a banner year for our young alumni program,” said Assistant Director of Advancement Benjamin Jarrett. “These numbers, while not final, are incredibly impressive.”

This marks two years that the Office of Advancement has posted increased donor yield from members of the five most-recently graduated classes. At the end of fiscal year 2010, around 30 percent more students had donated compared with the previous year.

At 509 donors, the class of 2010 broke a previous young alumni record of 488 set by the class of 2008.

According to Jarrett, this year’s young alumni also donated at a rate 5 percent higher than other graduates. The class of 2010 had the highest participation rate at 34 percent, but no individual class fell below 25 percent yield.

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It’s no small feat convincing graduating seniors to donate money in the midst of a poor job market. Yet, the Class of 2010 Fund did just that.

“It’s tough for young people to make commitments when there’s a lot of uncertainty,” Ben Jarrett, Assistant Director in the Office of Advancement, said. “But, we know how lucky we are at Georgetown to have such dedicated students.”

When Vox last checked in on the Class of 2010 Fund in early April, a quarter of the senior class had donated approximately $17,000 total. The final numbers, however, show a late-semester surge. With a 67% participation rate, the Class of 2010 ultimately donated $37,793 to the University.

The Fund’s numbers mark three-year highs in both donation amount and participation rate; the Class of 2010 raised about $15,000 more than the Class of 2009, while convincing 11% more of its senior class to donate.

Lauren Huddleston, Class of 2010 Fund Co-Chair, suggested that on-campus events, such as a senior toast in Riggs Library with President John DeGioia and a semi-formal held in the Hariri building, helped boost the Fund.

“We tried to market ourselves and put ourselves in any event where seniors would be,” Huddleston said. “We tried to appeal to a cross-section of our class.”

While $22,000 of the Fund will go to towards the 1789 Scholarship Imperative and the Georgetown Fund, the remaining monies will be split among specific departments or funds chosen by each donor. According to Jarrett, the next-highest donation choices were academic departments, student groups, and athletic programs.

Curious about how the Class of 2010 compares to previous classes? We’ve got the charts after the jump.

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Aided by the University’s ongoing efforts to raise funds for the 1789 Scholarship Imperative, young alumni donations increased by 25 percent in the past year.

The Office of Advancement saw a similar jump in the number of young alumni donors, who are defined as members of the five most-recently graduated classes. Nearly 30 percent more students donated compared to the 2009 fiscal year.

“A lot of folks are rallying behind the Scholarship Imperative,” Assistant Director of Advancement Benjamin Jarrett said.

More than a quarter of the young alumni donor base, which the Office of Advancement defines as “solicitable alumni,” gave gifts to the University last year. The Class of 2008 led the pack with a 30 percent participation rate, however, no class fell below the 24 percent mark.

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We know you’ve all been waiting on the edge of your seats with one question burning deep into the backs of your minds: What recently graduated class raised the most young alumni donations this past year?

As of this morning—which is the last day of the 2010 fiscal year, in case you didn’t mark your calendars—the Class of 2008 leads the pack with 421 gifts to the University. (The Class of 2005 closely trails them with 401 gifts, while none of the other three most recently graduated classes cracked 380 gifts.)

“This has been a pretty good year for alumni giving, so far,” Assistant Director of Advancement Benjamin Jarrett said. “It looks like we’ll be on track to have our best year ever in terms of the number of gifts coming in from the first five years out of college.”

Alumni who wish to make a last-minute donation to the University can do so through the Georgetown Fund’s website. According to Jarrett, over 8,500 alumni have already donated the Georgetown Fund and 1789 Scholarship Initiative, which aims to raise $500 million for undergraduate scholarships by 2014.

So give—or, you know, don’t. Your choice.

Photo by Flickr user dborman2 used under a Creative Commons license.