My Alma mater (business school) asked me at least once a year after I graduated for donations, which then escalated after I then got my MBA, always asking for donations at the "President's" or "Chairmen's" level (aka $1,000+/$10,000+). They were aware that the job I was in averaged six figures, and thought I should share the wealth with "the university that made the investment* to help me get to where I am".
I remember a particular phone call from a fundraiser around my 10th year from graduation. He asked for money for the general fund, to help "provide scholarships to invest in the future great business leaders". I asked what percent of tuition most students received as scholarships, and he said they usually get a 50% scholarship (plus federal grants). I thought that sounded wonderful. I asked what percent of salary they would consider appropriate for an alumni, and he said they generally recommend 2%. I said that sounded fair. I said I earned $150,000. The eager fundraiser said "Wow. That's great! So today you'll be making a $3,000 donation?"
I told him, "Well, let me tell you a story first. You're probably aware your 50% average figure come from the university offering full ride scholarships to the top 3 applicants from every state, and generous scholarships to the next few applications. I graduated high school with a 3.7 GPA from a very great high school and scored a 1380 on my SATs. Unfortunately, our high school was very competitive in a very competitive state, and I wasn't the top student in my high school who applied, much less one of the top 3 for my state, so I didn't get a penny in scholarships from the university. I had to work part time during school, live off campus, and use my childhood savings to cover the $120,000 you charged me during my 4 years there. During my time there, I got to listen to a fellow classmate from New Mexico, who proudly talked about how he graduated high school in juvie during his 6 year incarceration and got an 1120 on his SATs, who would rant about how he got a full tuition scholarship, free on-campus room & board, and was given an incredibly well paying school job, all due solely to his adding "geographic diversity" to our school. You invested nothing in me. You invested at least $250,000 in him. 10 years later, I now make $150,000 a year in a growing career. I know for a fact he makes $30,000 a year as a low-level manager in some $%#^ local business that he's content to be in for the rest of his life. As a business school, you should know you only earn the dividends off your investments. You invested nothing in me, so you'll get nothing from me. But best of luck in collecting $600/year from my classmate -- in a little over 400 years your investment in one of the 'future great business leaders' should fully pay off".
They haven't called back since.
It was well established during my time in university and by fellow classmates that most of the people receiving "merit" scholarships at our school were the people with the least merit. As we've succeeded in our own respective careers, we've generally agreed on the same bottom line -- if your university didn't give to you, they shouldn't expect you to give back. Only those who received from strangers should be expected to pay it forward to the next generation of strangers. The scholarship "fund" should be making investments like any other fund -- invest your dollars in the investments (applicants) who have the best potential to produce a return (not necessarily earn a lot of money, but also those who make meaningful contributions in art/science/business to humanity)
* - As others have pointed out, I HATE that this is the new buzz word, usually for things that have nothing to do with an actual investment.