For the fourth consecutive year, the percentage of alumni giving financially to William Jewell has increased! For the most recent academic year (2006-2007), 24 percent of the alumni community provided Jewell with a vote of confidence through a charitable gift. We are grateful for the ever-increasing support alumni have demonstrated and we are excited about the significantly positive trend in alumni giving as demonstrated below. 2006-2007 24% 2005-2006 21.5% 2004-2005 20% 2003-2004 17% Why is it important to have a strong alumni giving percentage? The alumni giving percentage is an indicator of alumni pride and satisfaction and measures the act of alumni giving, not the total amount given. In addition, foundations evaluate the alumni giving percentage as a benchmark for their own grants to colleges and universities for building programs. In addition, rating services like U.S. News and World Report take into consideration the alumni giving percentage when ranking colleges with their peers. These groups use the alumni giving percentage as an indicator of whether a college has strong alumni satisfaction. Currently, most of the liberal arts colleges and universities ranked in the top 100 by U.S. News and World Report possess alumni giving percentages of 30 percent or higher. And although the U.S. News and World Report rankings of college and universities take into account several other factors such as first-year student retention rates, average ACT score for incoming first-year students, and other key statistics, the alumni giving percentage remains the only benchmark to measure overall alumni satisfaction for a college or university. As an alumnus or alumna, your gift will have an immediate impact on the value of your degree as we rise in the rankings. Giving to William Jewell is a great way to help your alma mater and yourself! Goals for the future We hope to realize yet another increase in the alumni giving percentage for the 2007-2008, and our goal is to achieve at least a 26 percent alumni giving rate this year. Longer term, we strive to join the ranks of the top 100 liberal arts colleges and universities who regularly receive 30 percent or more in alumni giving each and every year. If you would like to help give Jewell a kick-start towards increasing the alumni giving percentage for the fifth straight year, click on the "Give to Jewell" link above to provide an online donation. Or visit www.jewell.edu/giving/ to learn about other ways to provide a gift to Jewell. Thank you for your ongoing support!