Thanks to volunteers, Skidmore meets Momentum Challenge

June 10, 2011

Thanks in large part to the work of 675 alumni and parent fundraising volunteers who collectively made thousands of contacts, Skidmore has surpassed the goal for the $1 Million Momentum Challenge.

More than 12,500 alumni, parents and friends contributed to Skidmore this year. A group of alumni, parents, and friends offered a $1 million collective gift if 12,500 donors made gifts - of any size - to Skidmore by the close of the 2010-11 giving year. In total, 12,622 donors made gifts by Challenge's close.

Setting a goal of 10,000 donors, Susan Kettering Williamson '59 issued a $1 million challenge in the 2009-10 giving year that drove total gifts to just over 11,500. This year's Momentum Challenge has exceeded that total by more than 1,000 donors.

'We could not have achieved this without the dedication, enthusiasm and perseverance of our hundreds of volunteers," said Nancy Hamilton '77, vice president for annual giving on the Skidmore Alumni Association Board of Directors. "Thanks to all for a job well done."

Because the campaign crossed the key 12,500-gift mark on the second day of Reunion Weekend, Terry Thomas Fulmer '76, chair of the Board of Trustees' Advancement Committee, was able to announce at the Alumni Association Recognition Ceremony that the Momentum Challenge had been met. (See video.)

Important accomplishments from this year's effort:

Classes celebrating reunion in 2011 provided more than $2 million in support for Skidmore. Included in this total is an Annual Fund gift from the Class of 1961 totaling more than $439,000. This is the largest gift ever given to the Annual Fund by a class in the College's history.
Volunteers graduating in the last twenty years competed to raise their class participation. The winning classes are 1992 and 2005. Congratulations!
More than 1,000 alumni, parents, and friends joined the Friends of the Presidents, Skidmore's giving society for leadership support, including 35 members of the Class of 2011.

Gifts from alumni, parents, and friends provide key support for all aspects of a Skidmore education including financial aid, faculty recruitment and retention, maintenance of College facilities, and high-impact experiences for students such as collaborative research, study abroad, and internships. Gifts may also be designated for specific purposes, such as support of athletics and the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery.