Come June, the class of 2008 will realize that their relationship with Stanford does not end with graduation. Following a trend among elite schools, development office officials are increasingly looking to younger alumni for donations.

Last year, Stanford received more gifts than any other school. To increase the so-called “participation rate” of alumni — Stanford has long lagged behind Ivy League stalwarts like Princeton — the University wants to get recent graduates giving early and often, even if their donations are not substantial to start.

“By asking young alumni to make an annual gift of any size, Stanford is asking that young alumni continue this tradition of helping make possible for the next generation the opportunities that they had as students,” said Rebecca Vogel, Senior Director of Communications and Stewardship in the Office of Development.

Over the past decade, Stanford has successfully solicited alumni donations due in part to the launch of aggressive fundraising drives, such as The Campaign for Undergraduate Education, which ended in December 2005 after exceeding its goal of raising $1 billion, and The Stanford Challenge, which was launched in October 2006 with the hope of raising $4.3 billion in five years.

The class of 2007 has been the target of the most recent University efforts to solicit donations. Often starting with lower salaries and burdened with student loans, some young alumni find it financially difficult to even consider such philanthropic spending.

“They do target the most recently graduated classes, since our Stanford experience is still fresh — and likely to engender warm, altruistic feelings,” said Sarah Douglas ‘07. “But it seems very inefficient, since we’re the group with the least access to disposable funds.”

Anneli von Reinhart ‘07 said the University made a large push to solicit donations from its most recent graduating class, offering small prizes as an incentive to donate any amount.

“I understand that the percent of graduating seniors who give to the University is perceived as a referendum on how happy alumni are with their undergraduate experience,” Reinhart said. “But my parents and I had just gone into some serious debt to afford Stanford, and though I loved my time here and am incredibly grateful to the University, they’ve got all the money that I can give at the moment.”

Recent graduates like Emily Gerth ‘07 were encouraged to donate, regardless of how small the amount.

“I haven’t decided exactly how much I’ll give this year, but I received money from The Stanford Fund as part of my financial aid as well as by being a member of student groups,” Gerth said. “Even though I can’t give much, I feel [I] owe at least a little bit of that back.”

“It probably won’t be more than $100,” she added, “but it’s about the thought for me.”

Acknowledging that younger alumni often have considerable financial pressures post-graduation, Vogel said that no gift is too small to be appreciated.

“Small gifts really do matter,” Vogel added. “Last year, 12,356 gifts to The Stanford Fund under $100 added up to $422,663.”

The push to begin donating begins with the Senior Gift campaign, in which seniors are encouraged to make a donation to The Stanford Fund. Last year, 46 percent of the senior class contributed to this campaign, raising a total of $83,974.03, which includes matching funds provided by donors including Peter Bing, the Parents’ Advisory Board and Atwell Match. The Class of 2007’s senior gift campaign represented a marked increase from the 2006 campaign, which raised donations totaling $58,914.77.

“Tuition only covers about 60 percent of the real costs of a Stanford education,” Vogel said. “What this means is that all students, even those paying full tuition, are subsidized to a degree by the generosity of alumni and friends who support Stanford.”

Kim Tran ‘07 said donations provided her with the financial aid she needed to attend Stanford.

“As a first-generation college student, and being from a lower middle-income family, the financial aid package at Stanford was such an important reason why I came,” Tran said. “Without it, I would have never been able to afford to come and have the wonderful experiences of my undergraduate career.”

While many recent grads contribute something right away, others find requests for money hard to stomach less than a year out of school.

“I do plan on gladly donating to Stanford in the future,” Douglas said, “but it’s going to be a conscious decision on my part, and not a spur-of-the-moment impulse sparked by a phone call or a letter soliciting donations.”