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$1.2 Million Gift from MBA Class of 2008
Shatters Business School Record


June 2008

 

STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS —The graduating MBA Class of 2008 left One Million Dreams, the name adopted as they set out to raise one million dollars as a class gift to the School. Their record-breaking $1.2 million gift exceeds previous records both in the percentage of participation by the class and dollar amount pledged and raised.

“You are the most amazing class, and all of us at the School are deeply grateful for your generosity and thoughtfulness,” said Robert L. Joss, dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, applauding the class achievement during the School’s 83rd Commencement in Frost Amphitheater on June 14, 2008.

“The final participation number stunned everyone,” said Ellen Otto, the Stanford Business School development officer who guided and advised the student 2008 Development Committee leaders. By all measures, this year’s class gift was unprecedented: 97.6 percent of the class took part, pledging $595,392 over 4 years beginning in 2009. The pledges ultimately will total $1.2 million because class members took advantage of two gift matching programs.

The first match of more than $452,000 came from the Stanford-wide Atwell Match, launched this fiscal year and offering a dollar-for-dollar match for current students and alums who graduated within 10 years. And $200,000 came from the Class of 1993 Challenge , which offered an all-or-nothing $150,000 if at least 95 percent of the class participated and an additional $50,000 if participation reached an unprecedented 96 percent. This latter gift program was established by two leaders of the Class of 1993 who were so inspired by the One Million Dreams goal that they solicited a small group of their classmates to establish the “Leverage Fund” that exceeded their original goal of $150,000. The Class of 1993, celebrating its 15th reunion this year, established the tradition of the class gift.

The previous record for a class gift was held by the Class of 2006 with 95.7 percent participation pledging $477,845. With matching funds the gift totaled $593,845.

Just prior to the diploma ceremony, 2008 Development Committee co-chairs Rob Bland and Jim Sinai presented a check big enough to cover an office desk to Dean Joss and Roshni Jain, co-president of the MBA Class of 2009, who received it on behalf of current and future Stanford Business students.

As part of their pledge, members of the MBA Class of 2008 were asked to contribute personal dream statements expressing their hopes and desires for the School. Hundreds of dreams centered on four themes: reputation and impact; service, public and global management; community, diversity, and fellowships; and faculty, courses, and case studies.

“I want the GSB to focus on creating programs that foster relationships between professors and students,” wrote one member of the class.

Another wrote: “My dream for the GSB is that it continues to be the best institution of its kind. That it continue to open its doors to all, and provide the best general, world-class business education in the world. That it continue to find the smartest, brightest, most open-minded people in the world and bring them together to create a synergy that cannot be found anywhere else.”

Early in the fundraising process, leaders of the Development Committee created a website to communicate their goals and strategy, recruited a team of 47 classmates to serve as ambassadors to the rest of the class, and then “set out to exceed all their goals,” said Otto. In addition to Bland and Sinai, Development Committee members include Megan Anderson, Kenny Gardner, Jack Lynch, Katriona MacIver, Philip Stenberg, and Rong Zhang.

“Congratulations to the Class of 2008 for this breathtaking achievement,” said David Kennedy, associate dean for development at Stanford Business School.