The Office of Development and Alumni Relations has started to market donations as "current-use" financial aid that would go directly into the University's operating budget for financial aid rather than into the University's endowment fund, according to Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement Nancy Winship. The reason for the change to current-use financial aid is to maintain the levels of financial aid given out to students attending Brandeis during a time when endowment distributions have declined, according to Winship and the Office of Development.

Typically donations have been put into the University's endowment fund, where approximately five percent has been withdrawn to be used as part of the University's operating budget. What remains of the donations would be left in the endowment fund to grow in value because it would have been invested. Donations going into the endowment fund were long-term donations, while current-use donations are spent immediately, Winship explained.

"There have been other [difficult] economic cycles where Brandeis has tried to raise additional money for the operating budget, but during this particular time I think it is more necessary than ever before, and the whole rationale behind it is that we need to protect our students," Winship said.

With the new approach of marketing donations as current-use, the Office of Development raised just under $31 million from July 1, 2008 through Dec. 31, 2008. In comparison, during the period of July 1, 2007 to Dec, 31, 2007, the Office of Development raised just under $40 million. The difference between 2008 and 2007 was largely due to a $10 million cash gift from a donor last year that isn't going to be repeated this year, Winship said.

While the fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30, Winship explained that a large percentage of the donations come in the second half of the fiscal year, from Jan. 1 to June 30. "It is probably too soon to know where we will end up because for Brandeis the most active donor months are May and June," Winship said.

Future prospects for the rest of the fiscal year look difficult, Winship said. "I think it will be the hardest fundraising year that we've had."

Some alumni, many who received scholarships themselves, who have contributed to Brandeis in the past, find it important to donate to Brandeis now to ensure that the school continues to attract the highest-caliber students. Lisa Kranc '75, a member of the Board of Directors of the Brandeis Alumni Association, said, "I've been a pretty steady donor to Brandeis. I was one of those lucky folks who was a recipient of one of those scholarships while I was at Brandeis. So at this point in my life I feel that it is important to give back because so many great folks made it possible for me to have a great education."

Other alumni find it necessary to donate now, especially when the country is in an economic recession and many institutions are having financial hardships while their endowments are losing value. The Office of Development reported that at the peak of the financial markets in 2007, the value of the Brandeis endowment was more than $700 million, but it lost about 20 percent of its value during the stock market downturn. Prof. Detlev Suderow '70, a scholarship student and now an adjunct professor at the Brandeis International Business School, said, "Right now the most critical need for the University is to help students and their families through this current economic crisis by allowing the University to continue to provide financial aid to students. Right now is the time where all alumni need to step up and help in that endeavor by allocating their gifts to Brandeis for financial aid."

"In general, everywhere donors are more cautious because they have concerns about the economy and how it affects them personally," Winship said.

President of the Alumni Association Allen Alter '71 said, "The future of the University is the alumni, because we are a young University where the average age of an alumnus is 41 years old. We are putting a special burden on the alums to step forward for Brandeis. The new push is that in these special times we all have to step up to the plate in a meaningful way." He added, "Brandeis has to be able to be competitive and be able to support students who are in need, which is critical to the University."

"It is our mission to be open to all students regardless of their financial and economic backgrounds. We want the best and brightest and we want to be open to all talented students who benefit from a Brandeis education," Winship said.