Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT IS THE SEC GOLD CHALLENGE?

The SEC GOLD Challenge creates a means by which participating SEC universities can compete to see who has the most loyal alumni. This Web site is a one-stop source for information about alumni giving, and perhaps even more importantly, consists of a series of graphs to show how both your university and your graduation year participation rates compare to your peers at other SEC schools.

The main focus of this Challenge is to increase the percentage of undergraduate alumni of the past ten years who make a gift to their University, from July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007.

WHICH GRADUATION YEARS ARE INCLUDED IN THE GOLD CHALLENGE?

"Graduates of the Last Decade" refers to alumni who graduated from 1997 through 2006.

WHY AREN'T SOME SCHOOLS PARTICIPATING?

While all twelve SEC schools expressed an interest in participating, two schools - Alabama, & LSU - were unable to participate this year for various reasons. We, and they, hope to have them join the competition in future years. If you are an alum from one of these schools, please click on their logo above for contact information - your gift to higher education is still important!

WHY FOCUS ON GRADUATES OF THE PAST TEN YEARS?

A large portion of each school’s undergraduate alumni are graduates of the past ten years. In addition, this population’s giving rate is typically lower than the total alumni population. Focusing on graduates from 1997-2006 will hopefully increase giving percentage across the board, and at the same time help increase the dollars for valuable annual support of the university. This benefits the universities and alumni alike.

WHY FOCUS ON PARTICIPATION RATHER THAN TOTAL DOLLARS RAISED?

Staff at each participating university recognize that there are many demands for recent graduates’ hard earned money. Many alumni in this population start new jobs, buy houses, new vehicles, and generally are "getting settled." Therefore, we stress that it is not the amount of the gift that matters, but rather one’s participation. Every gift matters and does make a difference, even if it may seem modest to the donor. Often, the $25 donor is committing a larger relative commitment to his/her income than a $25,000 donor! Plus, increasing participation will indeed increase total dollars raised, especially in the long run.

Additionally, focusing on participation is the only way to "level the playing field" as schools differ in size. For example, Florida has approximately 48,000 students, while Mississippi has about 16,500. Cumulative dollar amounts would not accurately reflect how each school was doing compared to each other.

HOW CAN I MAKE A GIFT?

Each university has different methods of accepting gifts. All schools want to make giving as easy as possible, and most have on-line giving pages. To make a gift, please click on your school’s logo.

WHEN ARE RESULTS UPDATED?

Results are posted monthly. Check back and check often!

HOW IS YOUR ALMA MATER DOING?

Click on your school's logo above to learn more about alumni giving, the importance of philanthropy to higher education, AND/OR to make your gift to help increase alumni giving participation at your school.