The senior gift is an important college tradition, in which the senior class gives back as much as they can raise to the school, for everything that it has provided them.

According to supervisor Erin Keefe, the goal was set at 149 seniors to donate any sum to the fund. That number has been surpassed with “155 donors and counting.” Seniors can still give their Senior Class Gift before graduation.

Keefe emphasized that the reason senior participation was so important was the fact that the school is graded on alumni and student participation when giving back.

“You can see the ratings in publications like the Princeton Review or U.S. News. It says a lot when a school can get students to give back to their college by giving anything they can,” she said. Keefe also mentioned that diplomas receive more value if the school has a higher participation grade. A simple senior year donation can help significantly in the long run.

According to Keefe, “It is not about how much a student can give, it is about the fact that they gave anything they could at the moment to a place they love.” The team who organized the senior gift was Annual Giving, a group under College Advancement who works all year round with Alumni Relations. The contribution to the Saint Anselm Fund is vital, because tuition does not cover every single student’s education or experience at Saint Anselm. Scholarships, Service and Solidarity trips, athletics, and much more is provided on campus by the Saint Anselm Fund.

There are many fundraising methods on campus to ensure the continuation of the college’s events. Alumni Relations also takes care to send letters to former students.

As stated by Keefe, “The biggest point that my office keeps in mind when fundraising is that it is so important to maintain and curate relationships with Alumni.”  In her opinion, the interactions with alumni are “what makes the job exciting and meaningful.”