Besides its primary role of fund-raising, the Fund Council office also acts as a sort of informal public relations center. Until recently, when the College started a special office for this purpose, McCord's mailbox was one of the only areas for graduate opinion. McCord makes it a point to answer all letters personally and deal with as many alumni as he possibly can.
When Edwin Ginn '18 resigned as class agent because of the appointment of J. Robert Oppenheimer '26 as William James Lecturer for 1957, McCord spoke with him at some length about the problem and tried to convince Ginn that the one event such as a year's appointment should not make him forget all the other things which made him proud of Harvard.
He Stood Firm
Ginn stood firm on his decision, however, and surrendered his post as class agent. Incidents like this are few, McCord points out, but nevertheless regrettable. In his work, he tries to ironout such difficulties before they attain a certain notoriety.
At the other extreme of public relations, McCord received the following message several years ago: "My friends of the Fund I greatly fear/ I cannot be dunned/ For another year/ It now costs me/ Five thousand dollars/ To make children three/ From books to scholars/ Of this large sum/ Old Harvard fair/ To teach my son/ Now gets her share/ So I ask ye/ At this costly time/ Please patient be/ Till I have a dime."
An ex-president of the Lampoon, McCord was not at a loss for words. He replied: "Dear Mr. Griscom/ You are good/ Your Pax Vobiscum/ Is understood/ Your children three/ Will soon be scholars/ Till then your free/ No duns for dollars/ For even we'll/ Remember that/ It isn't leal/ To pass the hat/ Until your boy/ Has got his growth/ What then: O joy/ We'll get you both."
Another function of the Fund Council office is to keep the graduate up to date on the happenings in the College. The annual pamphlets, explaining current Fund activities, often include sections with reports on progress within the College. By performing this service, the alumni office makes the graduate feel that he still is a part of the College and can play an active role in her future.
The actual mechanics of the Fund rest with the class agents. Most of them come from the Boston-Cambridge area, since they must work quite closely with Wadsworth House. McCord tries to know each of his agents personally--he has dealt with 318 of them, spanning 101 years--and thus increasing the Fund's efficiency.
Agents must solicit everyone in their classes, including those to whom the term "graduate" is loosely applied, namely anyone who has spent more than six months in the College. This canvassing involves many hours of writing letters, keeping records of funds received, and attending necessary meetings.
The efficiency of the class agent has a great effect on the success of his class in relationship to the rest of the Fund. The Class of 1943 has only one agent, David Place, but nevertheless it has consistently led the Fund in the number-of-men-contributing category and in contributing percentage.
The success of any drive can only be determined by the final tabulation of statistics. And this year the Fund broke its previous high of $704,000 as a total of 18,585 graduates gave $807,412 for an average gift of $43.45. These figures represent a ten-dollar increase in average gift in two years, plus a record 41.7 percent of the total graduate body which gave in 1955. This performance raised the overall thirty-year figures, so that now 36,000 out of 44,000 graduates--82 percent--have given $8,000,000 to the College.
The Harvard Fund must finally depend on the relationship between the College and the graduate. In maintaining this relationship, McCord attempts to foster a friendly, relaxed attitude between his office and the graduates. Emphasis in the letters lie on the academic rather than the athletic. Complaints and compliments are gratefully received and get a personal reply from McCord because he feels that "if a man cares enough about his college to give, he should feel free to complain or offer suggestion."
Largely because of this attitude, the alumnus feels that he is considered as an individual, not a sum of money. It makes him more ready to accept the fact that grants of large corporations cannot alone support the College and that he must do his share to carry the load. Thus, although the 1955 fund ended in December, and the 1956 drive does not begin until April, 230 graduates have already mailed in $30,000 without being solicited.
Why does the graduate give so willingly? Here are some of the answers which McCord has received in his correspondence:
"So that others may enjoy what we once enjoyed."
"Aware of the tremendous debt I owe to Harvard."
"The institution represents one of the great achievements of American democracy."
Perhaps the most common reason for giving to the Fund was expressed in a talk by Edward Streeter '14, author of Father of the Bride. "Although the graduate's memories will differ in detail, they will be basically similar to mine, and he will sigh with regret that an era so good, so rich, so colorful, so filled with giants and genius and laughter, should have passed away forever--and then he will fumble in the lower drawer of his desk for his checkbook.