Thanking Generous Alums

There was a gracious feeling in the air on Wednesday, January 28, as the O’Connor Campus Center (Coop) was home to Colgate’s second Thank-A-Thon. During this event, students volunteer to write personal thank -ou notes to alumni and other benefactors who have donated money to Colgate over the past year.

The Thank-A-Thon was organized and run by Assistant Director of the Annual Fund Lindsey Hoham. She was inspired by a Colgate alumnus in the Harvard development office, who organized thank-you note writing events at Harvard and found them to be effective.

“It is a great way to make donators feel like they are actually making a difference in students’ lives, as well as educating the students in the importance of philanthropy,” Hoham said.

Most students don’t realize how necessary donations are to Colgate, but Hoham says that “tuition only accounts for two-thirds of the cost of a student’s education.”

The other third comes in large part from donations, which is the reason why it is incredibly important to make Colgate’s benefactors feel that their donations are fully appreciated.

“I guess I never really thought about thanking alumni,” first-year Eric Spencer admitted. “Donations don’t feel like something that I can really effect but the Thank-A-Thon made the whole process more real to me.”

The first Thank-A-Thon, organized in November, was a great success, as 200 students gathered together to write more than 1,600 notes to alumni. This year, there were fewer notes written, as 105 students volunteered to write them, falling far short of this year’s goal of 1,700 notes.

“It was a little bit down from what I had hoped, but I am still pleased,” Hoham said.

Although this year’s Thank-A-Thon didn’t make quite the stir that had been hoped on campus, it did an adequate job of showing some gratitude from a few students and dedicated faculty, which will hopefully mean a brighter day and continued donations to Colgate in the future for the people who received thank-you notes.