The Class of 2008 will follow its predecessors by choosing the year-old Georgetown Fund as the benefactor of its senior class gift.

The main portion of this year’s Senior Class Gift will be a contribution to the Georgetown Fund, which directly supports undergraduates through scholarships, contributions to student life and financial support for faculty retention and recruitment.
The graduating Class of 2007 donated more than $65,000 to the university, with most of the money going to the Georgetown Fund.

“It’s the most important thing the senior class can do for Georgetown,” said Gift Committee Co-Chair Patrick Sivertsen (COL ’08). “We see this as the great unifying factor.”

In comparison, the graduating classes at Harvard University, Yale University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Dartmouth College each donated less than $35,000 back to their respective schools.

In fiscal year 2007, the Georgetown Fund gave $2.7 million in scholarships to students and bought GERMS a new ambulance thanks to the patronage of alumni and seniors, Sivertsen said.

“The Georgetown Fund is current-use money. Next year’s students will benefit directly,” said Ben Jarrett, assistant director of the Office of Advancement.

Students may also make specific donations to a particular group on campus, said Co-Chair Harrison Beacher (COL ’08). “We’re going to give students a choice to engage in philanthropy,” he said.
Beacher also added that a small portion of the money raised will go toward a campus beautification project that will be decided by the committee and the senior class.

He said, however, that this will only be a small portion of the gift, intended to leave a visual representation of the class.
“The risk you run with a tangible object and vote is there will be a losing side. By definition there will be people who are not happy,” Sivertsen said. “The mission of the Georgetown Fund is irrefutable.”
The Senior Class Committee started their student outreach last month, sending letters to seniors explaining how contributing will lead to their lasting legacy as a class. In the letter, the committee suggested a monthly gift donation of $20.08.

“We had at least 11 donations over the break,” Sivertsen said. “We weren’t expecting to get donations over break. We just wanted to pique the interest,” he added.

The committee will continue to reach out to students as the semester continues.

“We hope to build sustainable giving,” Sivertsen said. “We hope the Class of 2008 will be just as engaged in giving now as they will in 2028.”

“In 20 years, we want to come back and be able to say, ‘We gave that,’” Sarah Taurckini (COL ’08) said. I wonder if we could donate to Leo’s to get better food,” she joked.