Cornell Fund

As we build momentum toward our 30th reunion campaign (where we once again will try for more than 1000 donors), '79 is making an ever stronger commitment to the Campaign for Cornell. In each of the last three fund years, classmates made contributions totalling more than $2.0 million. In 2008, we are reaching a new threshold in total dollars, and intend to exceed the participation goal of 750 donors.

The Class of '79 Cup aims at promoting participation. Its goal is to reward classes who show consistently high levels of donor participation in non-reunion as well as reunion years. It will be given to a class that retains either 300, or 55%, of the donors from one reunion, through each of the following five years (culminating in the next reunion). These faithful contributors need to keep on giving in six successive years. No class in Cornell's history has achieved this retained-donor percentage yet, although the Class of '79 has had excellent continuity of giving since our 25th reunion. This is why the class's participation goal is critical this year, to line up a chance to win our own challenge in 2009.

Take advantage of on-line giving...and on-line banking

Cornell still offers a conventional pledge card, but if yours is not available, simply click here or on the "online gifts>>" link elsewhere on this page, and you can join in showing your continuing support for the great work of Cornell. Better yet, if you're an online banking user, why not set up a quarterly scheduled payment to Cornell? This is a convenient way to strengthen your pledge by spreading the donation into several pieces.

In addition to unrestricted gifts, please consider designating a portion of your gift toward two specific projects of the Class of 1979: the Class of 1979 scholarship dedicated to the memory of departed classmates, and the Library Endowment, which is enabling exciting advances in digitizing the incredible holdings of Cornell's world-class library.