K.I.
I think it will be fine. We are ALL living through tough times these days and I think everyone is (well should be) trying to have a 'waste not, want not' attitude!
She will probably be so excited about the fact that it's from her alma mater, that she won't even care...I know I love that kind of stuff, so do my in-laws, as evident by my kids' HUGE collection of all things WSU Cougars!
~If you are really worried about it you could always buy a 'new' gift to go along with it, I know you said you are on a tight budget but you could get a cute book for just a couple dollars?