Northwestern alumni donated less in 2009 than in previous years, fitting into the national trend of decreased financial gifts from graduates.

The 2009 fiscal year showed the steepest decline in the history of the Council for Aid to Education’s survey of voluntary giving, according to a Feb. 2 article in The New York Times. Financial gifts to colleges and universities declined almost 12 percent, said Sarah Pearson, vice president for alumni relations and development.

“That was the first decline for us in many years,” she said. “(Gifts) were down between 10 and 15 percent, so we were very much in line with the decline of our top peers.”

NU receives gifts from numerous sources including alumni, the Parents’ Fund, friends of the University and the Young Alumni Council, an organization of NU students who graduated in the past 10 years. The declining trend in donations from these contributors reflects the recent recession, Pearson said.

“It was a fairly shocking year financially for many alumni and friends,” she said. “They responded with more caution in their philanthropy.”

Still, Pearson said some statistics for this fiscal year have been hopeful.

“Now we’re in a new fiscal year, and the economy is beginning to recover, so we actually begin to see things be a little more steady,” she said. “People are feeling better, so annual giving is beginning to pick up again. I don’t think we’re necessarily going to see another decline.”

Julie Lissner, Medill ’04, said she believes NU is recovering from the downward trend.

“One thing that’s kind of exciting is that even though it’s been a really hard year for the economy for donations to schools, donations to other charities and just for the job market, Northwestern has done pretty well despite the hurdles to overcome,” said Lissner, co-chair for the Young Alumni Council.

Lissner said her graduating class achieved a financial feat during Homecoming 2009.

“Despite the fact that we had the hard economy to deal with, we raised more money for Northwestern than any other fifth-reunion class to date,” she said.

Lissner said the Young Alumni are on track to achieve their financial goal for this fiscal year.

“That’s really exciting to show that Northwestern young alumni really do care and do understand the importance of giving to their alma mater, even despite the fact that things are a little tighter than usual,” she said.

But there is always room for improvement, Lissner said.

“We’re not, for instance, as strong as a school like Stanford or Harvard, but we’re working on it,” she said. “Our goal is to compete with those kinds of schools. They obviously have great young alumni contributions, and we’re working our way to get there.”

Medill sophomore Jessica Schiffman said she would be willing to give to NU after graduation.

“It’s your college experience,” she said. “It’s four years of your life that you’ll never forget. Once you’ve graduated, you want to give back to the place that brought so many memories.”

McCormick sophomore Sergey Krilov also said he would be willing to give back.

“When I go here, I see some of the shortcomings,” he said. “You know this place could be a better place, and a donation could make it a better place.”[email protected]