Many University of Wisconsin alumni have been increasingly reluctant to donate money to their alma mater over the past few years.

Though the number of alumni donors has remained relatively constant, recent statistics indicate a significant drop in the average dollar amount of each donation.

?People just aren?t as wealthy as they were,? said Sandy Wilcox, president of the UW Foundation, the primary fundraising wing at UW.

Wilcox said that campaign organizers unofficially plan to raise $1.2 billion in donations by 2007, but many alumni find it difficult to set aside large amounts of money to the university in a receding economy and an uncertain world climate.

However, UW is not the only institution suffering from a poor economy.

Michigan State University has had several major donors ask to postpone the payment of their pledges, while some alumni at the University of Kentucky have withdrawn their pledges altogether.

Haverford College, located near Philadelphia, PA, has considered altering their original goal to raise $200 million in donations by 2004. Only $130 million of the total has been collected to date, and officials at Haverford may be forced to delay the ending date of their campaign.

?The economy is definitely a big problem, and there are more demands on people?s giving with competition from other charities,? said Eileen Haupt, associate director of annual giving at Haverford College.

The effects of such a shortfall are uncertain, but Haupt said that the atmosphere at Haverford would not suffer because of the lack of incoming donations.

?The quality of student applications is incredible, and the number of applicants increases every year,? Haupt said. ?Students aren?t even aware of the problem. Their needs are definitely met.?

An exception to the nationwide trend of fundraising difficulty is Duke University, who met and exceeded their goal of $2 billion more than a year ahead of schedule last January. Peter Vaughn, director of development communications at Duke attributed their success to a few key factors.

?When the campaign began, we had a president (Nannerl Keohane) who was an exceptional fundraiser and who spent a good deal of time on the issue,? Vaughn said.

Vaughn also attributed much of their success to the planning and organization that occurred before the campaign began in 1996. In addition, Vaughn compared Duke to UW in that both strive to have one main campaign for raising money.

?Much like the University of Wisconsin, Duke is a very decentralized place, and we tried hardest to organize a central campaign to represent one Duke,? Vaughn said.

Despite Duke?s success thus far, scholarship aid, faculty benefits and new building projects remain under-funded.

?We?ve raised over $2 billion, but until we meet our goal for each area, [the campaign] won?t be considered a success,? Vaughn said.

Universities continue to rally alumni for their support. Student-led telethons and mailing campaigns aim at getting alumni acquainted to the donating process.

?We rely on alumni in part because corporate philanthropy is becoming an oxymoron,? Sandy Wilcox of the UW Foundation said. ?These events are an important part of campaigns, because the first step in fundraising is getting alumni involved with the life of the university.?

Universities like UW and Haverford College hope that decreased funding will not mean the loss of their competitive edge.

?It hasn?t happened yet,? Eileen Haupt of Haverford said, ?… but it?s something to always worry about.?