Have you gotten a call from your school's alumni office and wondered how they've tracked you down, even if this is the third illegal sublet you've been living in? The NY Times sheds some light on NYU's efforts, which have grown much more sophisticated in the past few years, especially now as they try to raise $2.5 billion for their endowment. NYU's $2.5 billion goal, breaks down to about $1 million a day and is not as big as the $4 billion endowment drives that Cornell, Stanford and Columbia are on, but it's pretty aggressive. Here's how NYU President John Sexton sells the school:
N.Y.U. is historically not a wealthy school compared with its elite competitors — it has more than 40,000 students and an endowment of about $1.6 billion.
As N.Y.U.’s storyteller in chief, Dr. Sexton consistently hits on certain themes: N.Y.U. is a scrappy underdog, making up for its lack of endowment with moxie and with its appealing home in New York City.
What's also fascinating is how NYU fund-raising office employees not only use electronic screening companies to dig information about alumni, but they also scour through media sources to look for "names of alumni, parents of alumni or parents of students"!
Do you donate to your alma mater? Or are the loans you've repaid/repaying enough for now?
