“Hello, my name’s Susan and I’m calling you about your beloved alma mater… How about starting with a small monthly donation of $200?”

Sound familiar? Every graduate receives these calls seemingly moments after that graduation cap tassel crosses from right to left. Alumni donations have a large impact on colleges for several reasons and so they are solicited with what may appear to be overzealous enthusiasm. You may wonder how these people expect a new graduate to be able to donate anything. Don’t you need a job first?

Well, while your school is definitely hoping for a sizable check, that’s actually not the main reason for the unsolicited call. A large part of a school’s ranking is based on the rate of alumni donations – the percentage of graduates who give back to their school. By encouraging you to donate, sometimes even as little as $1, colleges are trying to maintain or even boost a significant factor in ratings determination. They also want to get you in the habit of giving.

While the size of your alumni donation right now might not be close to Warren Buffet’s, it still has a big impact on how your school is ranked and your giving patterns in the future.