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Record MBA Class
Pledge Creates a
Legacy
For the third year in a row,
the graduating MBA class
set a new record for class gift—hitting seven figures for
the first time. Raising the
bar for the next generation
of students is something of
a Wharton tradition, but
the goals of the 2005 Class
Legacy were loftier than
mere competitive spirit.
"During the campaign,
we never said our goal was
to raise a lot of money," said
Andras Forgacs, WG'05, who
co-chaired the committee
along with Mona Bijoor, also
WG'05. "Our goal was to
get people to become active
alumni. We believed that if
we could do that, we would
have a successful campaign."
The strategy worked.
A total of $1,133,767 was
pledged by the combined
traditional and executive
MBA classes. The class
pledge total includes 98%
overall participation, with
$883,284 contributed by
the traditional MBA and
$304,483 from the MBA
Exec students. The combined
total is believed to be
the largest class gift in dollars
among U.S. institutions
of higher education.
In true Wharton fashion,
the committee used quantitative
analysis to make the marketing
message more effective.
Eighty volunteers submitted
data on their Wharton contacts,
and the committee used
linear optimization to assign
10 individual prospects to
the committee member who
would most successfully approach them.
By limiting their
contacts, each volunteer was
able to give more personal attention
to the students who
they were assigned.
Other innovations contributed
to the success. This
year's Class Legacy project
was the first to use an interactive
e-mail marketing
campaign and to implement
online giving with real-time
updates through a student-created website. On the
low-tech, high-touch side,
the committee expanded the
campaign's supporting social
events, sponsoring a casual
barbecue on Koo Plaza, an
MBA Pub night and a cocktail
party held at Vesper on
Boathouse Row. The events
were supported by alumni
speakers Phil Darivoff,
W'79, WG '85, Gloria
Rabinowitz, WG'78, and
Alfred West Jr., WG'66.
The committee made
sure alumni involvement
was a two-way exchange.
"We wanted to inspire
alumni too," said co-chair
Bijoor. "Our pledge shows
them that we're committed
to the school—we feel
that it's important to invest
in it."
In fact, the campaign
was boosted by two challenge
grants from alumni.
First Rodney McLauchlan,
WG'78, pledged up to
$50,000 in increments beginning
at 70 percent class
participation. When pledges
approached the 95 percent
level achieved the previous
year, a second alumnus,
Ronald S. Haft, W'81.
WG'82, chipped in an additional
$1,000 for every percentage
point approaching
100 percent. The total challenge
grant added another
$54,000 to the hefty total.
This year the campaign
also involved closer collaboration
with the MBA
Program for Executives class
gift, emphasizing that both
programs form one graduating
class. The MBA Exec
class pledge, co-chaired by
Steven Shea and Andrea
Kirk in the east and Greg
Chow and Michael Ashburn
in the west (all WG'05),
achieved a nearly perfect
99.4% participation.
"It's not about the
money—it's about creating
a culture," Bijoor insisted.
"Wharton has always done
a lot with a little. Now it's
time we do a lot with a lot."
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