Not to want to donate to my (or DH's) alma mater?

[LornMowa]

I'd rather put any spare money we have towards our own DCs' education but have to admit to feeling guilty whenever those chirpy students ring (usually at teatime) begging for money.

I have no idea what you are talking about

they are not BU to ask
you are not BU to say no.

Did you benefit from such donations in the past?

[doh]

If you are on the mailing list of your old university, then you will probably have had begging phone calls or letters asking you to donate to a fund for impoverished students/the new faculty building/new library/fund for Post graduate Afgan Women students etc.

I did benefit from free tuition fees but never made an application for assistance from any of the university funds. Not sure whether my degree improved my own earning power (in fact it may have actually hindered it!)

I feel that H E should be funded out of general taxation.

Ask them to remove your number from the list. Say if you have some spare money, you'll remember to donate, but it's out of the question at the moment.

I've never been phoned by any educational establishent that I've graced; they must have realised I wasn't going to make the big time. I shouldn't imagine you're alone in thinking you need to hang on to your cash to help your own children have the opportunity to go to university.

YANBU. I've got two kids to bring up. I went to quite a posh uni and I'm pretty sure they have more disposable income than me! (I went when grants were still available).

I also agree with LornMowa. To educate and further yourself should be a right not a privelege. It should not be only available to the wealthy.

I quite frequently get these calls - I tell them I have no spare money but they don't take my word for it and make me feel bad about not giving. TBH they are pushier than double glazing salesman.

But I really don't have it to spare.

I donate regularly to several children's charities - I regard those as worthier causes.

I never had any help from these kind of funds when I was a student many moons ago.

Mind you , I never really needed it as my parents went without to make sure I did not go short.

I had a letter from one uni to say they were going to do this - and I replied straight away to be taken off the list. The other (I know, too much education, some people!) called out of the blue, and I said no and asked to be taken off the list then. Not heard from either again.

I had tuition fees paid, which I think all students did back in my day, and got nothing else out of anyone - my parents helped with living expenses. I'm now in the position of trying to work out how I can help DS go to university, and I don't have any cash to spare despite all the education.

If you don't want to give / don't have spare cash - then of course you don't have to and YANBU.

My DH gives quite regularly to his as wants to contribute to the insitution that he feels gave him so much.

So some people do give and so it is not unreasonable of them to ask.

It is much more common in the US for people to give than here

YANBU

I somehow dropped off our unis mailing list but DH gets begging letters from it and from his old school. He has no compunction at all about binning them. Especially the school since finding that one of the items bought from the OBs fund was an expensive new lectern

Its good that ultra-rich individuals should fund scholarships, bursaries etc but I don't think its something normal people should feel pressured to put ahead of their own kids.

I've read that some universities in the UK are now targetting the parents of current students as well as alumni. That means we have, potentially, five sets of chirpy student fund raisers to deal with.

What does alma mater mean?
In tranlation. I know what it means colloquially.

It has been common for a long time in the US and Canada. A student from Canada explained it to me once, if they have 40,000 students a year and get even 50% signing up to donate just £10 a year that is an awful lot of money.
That is why US and Canadian Universities have such large endowments, an can help those truly impoverished.

However I have never given to any of my 3 ex-unis, DH has to his business school once. If I had a regular income I would give to one of my past unis though, but probably not much.

I've always just told them that I feel there are other causes I prefer to donate to: I do believe this as my former uni is well off in uni terms, and has always tended to attract a disproportionate number of very well off and privately educated srudents. I don't feel remotely guilty about it.

Bounteous mother.

Streatham - alma mater translates as "nourishing mother", or "foster mother"

I get things through the post all the time but never on the phone. That would be awkward! I have never given anything.... To be honest I can think of better causes.

there's no way I would give a penny to one of my old colleges - they can raise money by other means such as chipping the gold leaf off the drainpipes for a start.

I give money to the other where I can though - I trust them to spend it wisely and anyway they give me the choice of which fund to put it in, so I know it will go directly to impoverished students.

Was a bit when they suggested a direct debit of £50 a month though - that's more than I spend on myself, clothes, books etc all included!

YANBU you don't have to donate if you don't want to, but those saying that they never benefited from these fundraising campaigns when they were at uni because they didn't get any direct funds may actually have had some benefit but not realise it. For example the uni I'm currently at has just built a brilliant new library which was partly funded through alumni donations which will benefit thousands and thousands of current and future students.

LornaMowa mine and DH's letters arrived today as well and I have put it to one side for now but having my name on the wall because I've paid for an old book to be saved is not really a good use of current family income.

Arf at SSM's gold leaf coated drainpipes. Exactly.

I give (a tiny bit of) money to try and give help/hope to people who have next to nothing - think this is fair as I barely have any money myself (viz. currently no money to pay rent). Couple of quid a month to Amnesty and a charity that helps with desperate situations worldwide.

I am not going to give money to spend on a big dinner for students, or for new spoons or a nice portrait of some academics. No ta.

Also I know that loads and loads of other people are pathetically touchingly attached to their alma mater, and would give thousands to old college before forking out an old ringpull to help some of the campaigns I support.

YANBU - DH gets called about twice a year by some flirty chatty female student who generally starts by asking him lots of flattering questions about how interested she is in the subject he studied, and how did he get into his line of work? etc etc. He bloody LOVES it. The call always ends with a plea for money though and frankly his old college is the LAST place I would want to give money to - they are bloody rolling in it.

I've noticed they're more active recently. I said I was busy, they said they'd call back and they never have. Oh well.