Dear Alumnus:
We hope this letter finds you well. And we hope this letter finds you. Even though several of your classmates have furnished us with your home, business, and e-mail addresses as well as various phone numbers, our attempts to contact you have not met with success and we try now in hopes of mending what has become a somewhat distant relationship between you and the College. Life is indeed, as the Beatles once sang, a "long and winding road," and we wonder if your road could be described thus:
--You graduated 25 years ago and found yourself living in a large city with a number of good friends you'd met at college. Perhaps you roomed in Manhattan at First Avenue and 91st Street with a classmate who worked in publishing, another starting law school, and a third employed by Sotheby's. All of you were grateful to the College for the strong liberal arts education you'd received and for the subsequent inroads you were now making in your respective professions. Occasionally sudents still at the College would pass through town, bunk down with you, and share a pizza. Your conversation revolved around the College, its character, and the bountiful opportunities it had afforded you. The current senior informed you that he or she envied your exciting life in the big city. You told him or her: "You're the truly lucky one; you're still at the most special place on earth: the College."
In any event, you got caught up in the hurlyburly of urban life and failed to contribute to the Alumni Fund in the first few post-collegiate years. You then began to feel sheepish, embarrassed even, that you'd been remiss. You still cherish the College and now want nothing more than to express your appreciation, but the years have slipped by and you mistakenly feel it is "too late" to donate.
[Suggested annual contribution: $500]
--You did not move to a major metropolis after graduation, but instead opted for a focused life of solitude working, let us say, in northern Arizona for the Indian Health Service. You spent many years in a place where people had never even heard of your alma mater. You healed the needy and struggled with substantial medical school debt while avidly reading the "Alumni Monthly" and never forgetting Dick McPherson, your biology professor, mentor, and author of the award-winning text "Biology 1." It has been many years since you've visited, but you still feel the campus is one of the most bucolic spots on the planet, comparable in its heartrending grandeur to your familiar neighbor, the Grand Canyon. You want desperately to reconnect, but you dropped off the College's mailing list decades ago.
[Suggested annual contribution: $250]
--You are someone who always intended to give back, but have simply lacked the wherewithal. You have devoted many fallow seasons to an invention which has now been patented and has borne financial fruit. After so much disappointment, you are unmoored and may have neglected to share your recent good fortune. Or you may irrationally fear that your many non-giving years have "estranged" you from the College. May we hasten to assure you, our sole sentiment is: Congratulations on your invention.
[Suggested annual contribution: $25,000]
--You embody the patriotism which is one of the central tenets of the College's mission. After graduation, you joined the U.S. Armed Forces and, along with your one other classmate who serves in uniform, have been featured frequently in alumni publications, most recently in a special "Stars and Stripes" issue. As a staff sergeant, you define heroism, leading a tactical team in Iraq which defuses improvised explosive devices. In a heavy protective suit, under a burning sun, you are drawn to danger and you risk your life daily as you inspire us all.
Your devotion to the military has led to upheaval in your personal life and you've not had time to settle down and raise a family. Your closest kin is a nephew who last phoned three years ago. You have prudently taken out a $250,000 life insurance policy to guard against the unthinkable and you hope that this sum may ultimately spur a youth (or a community of youths) to meet your standard of personal bravery.
[Suggested donation: $500 yearly and thoughtful inclusion of us in your estate plans]
--You have alays nurtured the dream that one or both of your children would follow in you footsteps. However, as you've noted the steady ascendancy of the College in the "U.S. News and World Report" rankings over the years, you've begun to doubt whether your eldest, now theoretically a sophomore in high school, has the makings of a strong candidate. You have been laboring under the misconception that suddenly donating a substantial sum to the College could be perceived as gaining an unfair advantage for your offspring in the admissions process. You further worry that, having never given in the past, earmarking an extremely generous amount at this point could be awkward. Please know that all alumni children are offered careful consideration and that the Directors of Admissions and Alumni Giving are always available to chat.
[Suggeted annual contribution: $50,000]
--You were struck by a large truck shortly after commencement exercises and have passed the last quarter-century in hospital bed. Your irreparably fractured vertebrae keep you from doing little more than watching television and mentally reliving your halcyon days at the College. Your inability to grasp a pen has prevented you from ever writing a check to the Annual Fund. You learn of a convenient direct deposit option available through the Alumni Office and this offers a glimmer of hope.
[Suggested annual contibution: $10]
We trust your route, no matter how roundabout, will always lead you to the most rewarding of destinations: the College. Think of your journey as coming full circle. We've missed you. Welcome home.
