The 2011 Senior Class Giving Campaign is expected to reach its goal to surpass the number of gifts last year’s class gave.

‘We are almost up to how much last year’s class had at the very end of their campaign,’ said Beth Anne Kieft, a chair of the campaign.

As of Wednesday afternoon, 136 gifts were given to the campaign, 120 of which were from seniors, said Kristen Duggleby, assistant director of development of annual giving. As of Sunday, the campaign raised $11,537.60, according to the SU Giving website, but Duggleby said she did not have the updated amount. Last year, the Class of 2010 gave a total of 150 gifts, with 120 from seniors. The 2010 campaign surpassed its goal of $10,000 by raising $11,845.

This year’s Senior Class Giving Campaign set a goal to build onto the success of the Class of 2010, said Marc Heintzman, a chair of the campaign.

The Senior Class Giving Campaign has seen more seniors giving gifts during the last week. By Sunday, there were a total of 88 gifts from seniors, but after the first cap and gown distribution on Monday, a total of 17 gifts were given, raising the total on that day to 105 gifts, Duggleby said.

‘We were blown away by that because we haven’t seen that much activity in so short a time,’ Heintzman said.

He said he thought last year’s campaign saw a similar spike due to seniors becoming nostalgic as commencement nears.

‘They realize they have just a few days left on campus, and they’re looking for a way to extend their time at SU,’ he said.

With the recent jump in donations, the committee expects to reach its goal by commencement. Kieft, a chair of the campaign, estimated the campaign would receive at least 20 more gifts. She said this was a low but realistic expectation.

Heintzman also said the goal for this year’s campaign was not only to build upon the success of last year’s class but to raise awareness. Brenna Carlin, a member of the Senior Class Giving Committee, elaborated on this, and said the goal was to raise awareness of what it is to be a senior.

‘Everyone who has been here has obviously been affected by SU in some way,’ she said.

Christine Danielson, a senior exercise science major, said she gave a gift to the exercise science department. She said the department does not get a lot of funding and thought the money could help fund for lab equipment, field trips to exhibits and hiring new professors as current professors leave.

‘There’s a lot of things that go unfunded in exercise science that we end up having to pay for,’ she said.

Seniors have had the chance to give back to any part of Syracuse University that has made their experience meaningful, including schools and colleges, departments, organizations and programs. Family and friends can also donate to anything affiliated with SU. Gifts will be accepted online after commencement until June 30.

To help raise more money for the 2011 Senior Class Giving Campaign, committee members began raising awareness in October 2010 at Orange Central, SU’s Homecoming celebration, rather than waiting until spring semester like the Classes of 2009 and 2010 did. Since then, seniors have been able to give gifts at events such as Senior Night and the cap and gown distribution the week of graduation.

In March, seniors were also challenged to donate with the Palmer Senior Class Gift Challenge. For every senior that donates $20.11 or more before commencement, Deryck Palmer, a 1978 alumnus, member of the SU Board of Trustees and SU parent, will donate $100 to the university’s unrestricted funds. This makes all gifts of at least $20.11 worth at least $120.11. So far, Palmer has contributed $11,800 of the $25,000 total he plans to give.

The Palmer Challenge has helped a lot with the campaign, said Keift, a chair of the campaign. A similar challenge is possible in the future, she said.

Although committee members said they expect to reach their goal by commencement, Jon Barnhart, a chair of the campaign, said the total gifts did not reach his expectations.

‘We’ve come up a little bit short,’ he said. ‘I did expect more. I was really hoping for more.’

So far, 3 percent of the senior class has given a gift, but Barnhart said he hoped to see 10 percent of the class donate because the campaign started earlier than previous years. He said he now hopes 5 percent of the senior class will give a gift by commencement.

He said: ‘In the last couple days, we’re really hoping for a big push.’

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Published on May 10, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Laurence: [email protected] | @lgleveille