An anonymous “parent couple” has matched the donations made to Georgetown by this year’s graduating seniors, according to an email sent by Class of 2011 fund co-chairs Kirsten Hardy (SFS’11) and Quinn Portfolio (COL’11).

“During yesterday’s convocation ceremony, an anonymous parent couple was deeply moved by the commitment to Georgetown that so many of us have demonstrated this year. Inspired by our dedication, they hope to encourage us to stay connected and committed to the university and each other, today and throughout our lives,” wrote Hardy and Portfolio in an email sent today to graduating seniors.

The co-chairs wrote that the Class of 2011 had managed to raise $58,446 from 1,065 seniors prior to yesterday’s commencement ceremony, noting that the donation stood as an all-time record for a graduating class.

The donation by the anonymous couple raises the total gift made by the recently-graduated class to $116,892.

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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You probably saw those signs last Thursday—”Did you know your tuition runs out today?” “Did you know that 55 percent of Georgetown students receive financial aid?”—which were making their annual appearance on Copley Lawn to mark ‘Tuition Day,’ or, the day that the money students and their families pay to Georgetown no longer covers the University’s operating costs. From March 25 onwards, Georgetown is funded through alumni donations.

The signs were part of the campaign encouraging seniors to give to the Class of 2010 Fund, which annually collects money from the graduating class as gifts to Georgetown. Add that to the promotional video above—in which a train of students glide past the camera making bizarre gyrations and hand motions (save for the student who is actually signing; and clearly, they didn’t tell that first kid that this video was supposed to be inspiring)—and it’s clear that it’s that time of year again where the Class Fund amps up its efforts to encourage senior donations.

So Vox spoke with Co-Chair of the 2010 Fund Lauren Huddleston (COL ’10) to see how collection was going.

“We are right on par with where we were last year, with 25 percent of the senior class donating. We do have a goal, and it’s 65 percent of the senior class. Last year 55 percent gave,” Huddleston said.

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Trying to get college seniors to give to their soon-to-be alma mater during one of the worst recessions in recent history is no small task. So how did Georgetown’s Class of 2009 senior class fundraising committee do?

Well, when we checked in with them in April, they had about $13,000 in the coffers and 32% of the class had donated. The giving period ended on June 30th, and the final total for the Class of 2009 is $22,360.52, with 55% of the class participating, according to Class of 2009 Fund co-Chair Chloe Waddington (SFS ’09).

The class of 2009 raised about $12,000 less than the class of 2008 donated (their total was $34,273), but had the exact same participation rate.

This year, seniors were able to individually chose a department or fund they wanted to put their donation towards. According to Waddington, the top three choices were the Georgetown Fund, a general fund for scholarships, faculty retention and student life, Athletic and the Center for Social Justice (68% of seniors who donated gave to the Georgetown Fund, 8% picked Athletics and 3% picked CSJ).

How does the class of 2009 stack up against past senior classes? We’ve got the full stats for the past 15 years and more info about how this year’s fundraising campaign went after the jump!

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