Before beginning any fundraising effort, please review the Alumni Center Policies and Procedures for fundraising. You can email Sarah Bell, Director of the HLS Annual Fund, to review the fundraising procedures. Funds raised through outside sources must be used for the specific event or purpose for which they were raised.
HLS and Harvard University limit solicitation of alumni for funds. Any request for funds from HLS or Harvard alumni or from law firms requires the advance approval of the Law School Development Office. Please contact Sarah Bell at sbell@law.harvard.edu with questions.
Alumni & Individual Donors
There are two significant benefits of receiving donations for your student organization or journal from individual donors. First of all, when individuals give donations, usually they give without special restrictions like those that may come with gifts from corporations or foundations. Individuals will give to support annual operating expenses, projects, salaries, special projects, or other needs. Secondly, individuals also are goodwill ambassadors for your organization, helping to spread the word about your organization to friends, family, and alumni. (Individuals also work in corporations and foundations and can influence decisions!)
People are more likely to give when they have a personal connection to the organization/journal or the solicitor. It is also true that the person most likely to contribute to an organization is someone who has already donated once. Therefore, when generating a list of people to solicit, start with your organization or journal’s core supporters and work outward to friends, relatives, alumni, clients, and then to the friends of those people.
Please note that student organizations may not ask for more than $5,000 from any individual donor. Special permission must be obtained from the Harvard College Fund to solicit larger gifts.