Raising Funds in a Recessing Economy

Meg Twomey
Oct. 12, 2009

The addition to the College of Pharmacy. Money raised by the Office of External Affairs helped fund this addition.




On an average day, a student walks past at least six plaques on campus honoring someone who has donated time or money to the University of Georgia.
Even though UGA is a public university, most funding comesfrom private donors, many of whom are trimming their discretionary budgets because of the recession. State budget cuts are simultaneously reducing the University’s funding. So the Office of External Affairs is working to ensure that private support will be able to cover the difference.
External Affairs uses various fundraising techniques to bring in private funds to support research, scholarships and general University building projects. Programs such as the Senior Signature project help the office raise an average of $10 million dollars per year.
And while the economy’s recent issues have affected individual donors, the office is working diligently to keep the steady flow of contributions coming. This past fiscal year, the office brought in $9.8 million, only $200,000 less than the yearly average despite the economic downturn.
“With the state budget cuts, the need for private support has actually augmented,” said David Jones, the senior director of annual/special giving and prospect development. His office deals with the largest group of donors, including recent graduates, older alumni and friends of the University.
One of the most successful campaigns they employ is a telephone campaign that has students call over 100,000 alumni to encourage them to donate. A direct-mail campaign and an e-mail campaign are two other successful campaigns. Jones said that they are making a move towards a stronger electronic presence. Instead of paying for postage and paper, they send out e-newsletters and encourage people to donate through their Web site. The Archway to Excellence campaign, which ended last year, was a comprehensive campaign that involved the entire University. It was only the third comprehensive campaign in the school’s history and raised more than $650 million.
“For the past year, we’ve still been riding the momentum of the Archway to Excellence campaign,” said Keith Oelke, executive director of gift and estate planning and corporate and foundation relations. His department deals with larger and more long-term gifts, such as real estate and stocks, as well as partnerships with corporations and charitable foundations.
Much of the money the office raises goes towards need- and merit-based scholarships, including the Charter Scholarship, which awards more than 300 incoming freshman with $1,000 per year.
“It was great, it helped me pay for books, which can get really expensive,” said Lanier Heyburn, a 2007 recipient of the scholarship.
Donations also helped pay for the pharmacy school addition on South Campus. The building can now accommodate larger classes and the addition adds two more labs to the existing building.
“The new building’s really cool,” said Kosta Kleyman, a first year pharmacy student from Marietta. “Now we have a learning center just for pharmacy students and student lounges.”
To continue these programs though, the office must keep it's presence known to alumni and supporters, and hope that the donor support will continue.
“For the most part, they’re [donors] responsible,” said Jones.“We try to be sensitive to people’s situations and [are] always appreciative.”Jones said their practices haven’t really changed, but they are adapting to new technology. Along with the e-newsletter and online donation options, the office has a Web site that posts links to testimonials.
Jones and Oelke agreed that testimonials from students, faculty and other donors are the most persuasive way to get donations. And while the amount of donations can be traced to the economies overall strength, monies usually remain fairly stable. Oelke said that his office, in particular, is more affected by the stock market, since many gifts may be given in the form of shares, but he asserts that the tendency of Americans to give to charities has remained constant, despite economic troubles. “We just try to be prompt, efficient and caring,” said Oelke.“And hopefully people will realize that and continue to give.”