“I feel a special obligation to give back to the University, in whatever ways I can,” says Bob McCartney, who benefited from financial aid as an undergraduate. He has found quite a few ways. A life member of the Alumni Council, he is a former head of that group, and has served on many of its committees; he is also a member of his regional schools committee.
Ask Chris Olofson why he volunteers for Annual Giving, and he hardly knows where to start. “It’s the best way to invest in the future of just about everything in our society,” he says. He admires “Princeton’s commitment to excellence in everything it endeavors to do,” and firmly believes that graduation “doesn’t end your connection with the University, it just opens a new chapter.”
After four years at Princeton, Celina Sanchez “knew Princeton would always be a part of my life.” She chose to volunteer for Annual Giving because, “It is so vital to the functioning of the University.” She has been an AG volunteer since graduation, when she was a member of the Senior Class Committee, and is currently ’03’s participation chair.
Van Williams is known to most Princetonians as Princeton’s former vice president for development, a position he held from 1980 to 2002. During his tenure, he managed two highly successful fundraising campaigns: A Campaign for Princeton, and the campaign in celebration of the University’s 250th Anniversary.
Eli Goldsmith feels strongly about the value of Annual Giving―and not just at Princeton University. He is director of Annual Giving at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, California, an independent coeducational school for students in grades seven through twelve.
Dan Garrison calls education “the answer to many of the challenges we face as a society today. We desperately need a well-educated citizenry.” And, he says, “The quality of the education Princeton offers is unparalleled”—though he does allow a few other institutions honorable mention.
Camilla Norman Field is co-chairing an Annual Giving special gifts team as ’98 approaches its 15th Reunion. Though she has been an AG volunteer for many years, she is enjoying her new role. “This special reunion effort has put me in touch with many classmates. I have met people I never knew as undergraduates.”
“There needs to be a Princeton in the world,” says Allison Slater Tate, “and it’s our responsibility to help sustain the University for others who come after us. Annual Giving is the best way to help Princeton be Princeton.”
“Working with Annual Giving,” says Alison Fraser, “is a great way to give back to the University for everything it has given us. We all want to do what we can.” AG, she says, is what sets Princeton apart from other institutions.
As a longtime Annual Giving volunteer, member of the AG Committee, and co-class agent, Jonathan Goldman volunteers for Princeton because, “We all have an obligation to give back -- maybe not a million dollars, but something. We have one classmate who gives $19.96 every year. Participation in AG shows respect and appreciation. Giving to Princeton is part of who we are.”
