Otis Clay writes on HatchMagazine.com:

“I'm trying to figure out when, in my two years removed from college, I had the time to acquire an abundance of wealth to bestow upon my alma mater.  Let's see. Could it have been during those first six months after graduation, when I could not find a job that didn't involve wearing a visor and an apron?  Or maybe it was in the months after I got downsized from my less-than-satisfactory, short-term corporate job, when I made some key investment choices with my unemployment checks.  Maybe some people are a bit more financially sound a year or two removed college.  Me, I'm still in survival mode. Yet every couple months, a phone call arrives from my trusty university.  It's the alumni association, telling -- not asking -- me that I should be committed to my university as an active alumnus.  I just wish that when I say: ‘I'm unable to contribute or join at this time,’ the answer would be accepted, without need for reason, let alone further sales pitches.”

Eight years out of college, I have a wonderful relationship with my alma mater, and my husband and I (who met at college) contribute regularly to campus causes.  But I can’t help seeing Otis’ point on this.  The way alumni associations overzealously hound recent graduates for money seems rather tacky.  After all, grads and their parents just shelled out tens of thousands of dollars for that education, and they may very well still be drowning in loans.  They can barely make their rent and afford food that doesn’t come in a plastic package, and it’s just not practical for them to spend what meager income they have on a university donation.

I think it’s fine for alumni associations to check in once, to let recent grads know what resources are available to them, and to mention that the option to donate is open.  But the repeated, sometimes harassing calls that ensue after that are not cool.  Alumni associations should remember that people feel best when they give because they want to, not because they feel pressured into it.  And give the new grads a few years to establish themselves before you decide that their alma mater should be a top priority.  It's only fair.