The economy may be down and charitable giving in general may be suffering as a result. But Davidson College officials said this week their alumni and supporters haven’t wavered. In announcement on its website, the college announced that the 2008-9 Annual Fund met its goals both for dollar gifts and participation, raising $8.06 million as of June 30.

The news is being closely watched on the 1,800-student campus, where belt-tightening has been the rule over the past year, largely because of a decline in the annual income generated by the college’s endowment. (See our April audio interview with college President Tom Ross, “4-min. interview: Tom Ross on the economy and education.”)

The college says more than 60 percent of alumni made a gift to the Annual Fund for the 7th year in a row – a level that’s considered a rarity among university fund drives. The total dollar amount beat the goal of $7.8 million, and last year’s total. Parents alone gave more than $1 million.

“I shouldn’t be surprised, but this was a challenging year,” Maria Aldrich, director of Davidson’s Annual Fund, said in the announcement. “Many people faced very challenging economic conditions. But we have a wonderful college family, and they acted generously to support the experience and tradition we value.”

Besides funding its day-to-day operations, Davidson also is in the midst of a long-range effort to build up its endowment to support its no-loan policy. The college said $1.35 million of the money raised was designated by donors to go directly for The Davidson Trust. That’s the name of the scholarship program that allows the college to meet financial aid through grants and work study, not loans.

The college has said it hopes to raise $70 million to boost its endowment enough to generate income to pay for grants instead of loans in student financial aid packages. College officials estimate the plan will cost $3.5 million annually.