Notre Dame Annual Fund

FAQs

1. Notre Dame’s endowment has grown dramatically over the years. Why is my unrestricted annual gift still needed?

In keeping with good fiscal practice, Notre Dame spends only a portion of the investment earnings from its endowment. Revenue generated from the endowment underwrites nearly 20 percent of Notre Dame’s annual expenditures; the majority of these funds are designated for specific areas such as scholarships, endowed faculty positions, and programming.

Annual gifts, particularly those that are unrestricted, allow Notre Dame much-needed flexibility in directing funds to areas of critical need (including the ongoing need for additional scholarship support for undergraduate students) and to new priorities (such as emerging opportunities to purchase key library collections or recruit a potential faculty member who has just come onto the market).

The impact of Annual Fund gifts is exceptional: consider that a $100 unrestricted, expendable gift has the same impact on the annual budget as a $2,000 endowment fund. Similarly, a $1,000 annual gift has the same impact as a $25,000 endowment fund.

2. How often will I be contacted by the Notre Dame Annual Fund?

Typically, four mailings are sent each year to alumni, parents, and friends seeking support for the Annual Fund. In some cases, a Notre Dame student may phone you seeking support.

3. If I contribute early in the year, will I still receive other mailings?

Yes, for two simple reasons: first, many individuals prefer to make more than one gift in a given year. Second, each of the four quarterly mailings contains important Notre Dame news that may not be found in other University publications; thus the mailings not only encourage contributions, but help to keep you informed about what’s going on at Notre Dame.

4. What is the Sorin Society?

The Sorin Society is the keystone of the Notre Dame Annual Fund. It is a recognition society honoring the more than 10,500 individuals who make an annual unrestricted gift of $1,500 or more to Notre Dame. Sorin Society members enjoy a variety of benefits, including improved chances for success in obtaining tickets to multiple home football games through the football ticket lottery.

The Sorin Society has three tiers of membership:

Traditional ($1,500 annual gift)
Founder’s Circle ($5,000 annual gift)
Legacy ($10,000 annual gift)

5. What are matching gifts?

Matching gifts are a corporate-sponsored benefit wherein a company matches its employees’ personal contributions. Depending upon your employer’s policy, matching gifts can typically be arranged in one of the following ways:

By obtaining a matching gift form from your company and sending it to Notre Dame along with your gift.
By providing the company with a receipt or acknowledgement from Notre Dame that proves a gift was made.
By utilizing the matching gift services provided on your company’s website.

Find out if your employer sponsors a matching gift program.

6. Can I restrict my gift to an area of special interest?

Although Notre Dame prefers unrestricted gifts that can be directed to areas of greatest need, donors may prefer to specify where their gifts are used. You can designate your contribution to any dorm, academic department, official Student Activities club, varsity or club sport, or other officially recognized area of the University.