The advancement team began an effort to increase alumni participation in the Annual Fund from six to 10 percent through a new campaign entitled, “I am a Patriot.”
If participation is raised to 10 percent, and the school raises $25,000 from alumni by June 23, the Dresher Foundation will grant the school and additional $25,000.
Director of Development Laura Lang expects “that our alums are going to come through loud and clear.” She added, “We’re not asking them for a thousand dollars each. We’re asking them to consider a gift of any amount, whatever you feel that you can give. We’ve spent the last several years improving our communication with alumni. They hear from us monthly instead of just once a year to ask for money. We are reconnecting them with the school so that they have a reason to give back.”
The campaign itself “didn’t originate with the Dreshers, but they said if you have an emergency need for funds, please contact us,” Vice President of Institutional Advancement Kurt Sudbrink said. “John Carroll proposed the challenge idea to help us with unrestricted funds, which fill the gap that tuition does not cover.”
That “emergency need” was defined by the school. Sudbrink said, “We said we know we have some operating budget challenges and that is our highest priority and biggest area of need.”
To promote the campaign, the Development Office is focusing on the use of direct mail, email, phone calls, and videos.
“There will be a letter to alums that have given a gift at any time in the past. They’ll get a letter explaining the challenge with an envelope included. Anyone with an email address will get an email. [Director of Alumni Relations Sue] Greig and [Director of Communications] Sue Cathell will include it on their pages of the website,” Lang said. Those that have never donated will get a postcard with an explanation of the campaign as well as directions about how to donate on the website.
Although “gone are the days of the old traditional phone-a-thons,” the Alumni Association is “going to help make phone calls if they have a connection with certain people,” Lang said.
In addition, Fine Arts teacher Bob Schick is creating a video with “very quick vignettes of people saying ‘I am a Patriot’ and in sentences or less explaining why they are. He filmed Jen McIntyre [class of ‘87], [Vice Principal of Academics Gary] Scholl, [and] the kids that are going to Disney [World, among others]. Through our bulk email, we’re going to email the videos to our alums with a link to the online giving page.”
The campaign will end June 25, only days before the end of this fiscal year. According to Lang, “When the Dresher Foundation let us know about the challenge, it started immediately. Any new donations will be added to the campaign.”
“This is the best year to do a challenge because we are close to the participation level that we were at last June 30. We’ve made great strides in bringing in new donors. This is a great opportunity to reach out to that group that hasn’t responded yet,” Sudbrink said.
Currently, the alumni participation in the Annual Fund is at 5.7 percent, amounting to $77,170. At this time last year, alumni had donated $68,550.
To those not sure about donating, Sudbrink offers key reasons of why to do so: “The number one reason why people don’t give is that they don’t realize how needed they are and how important their giving is. They are filling the gap that tuition does not cover. Secondly, by their participating, that’s helping us as we go out to foundations or corporations. If we’re able to say we have 10, 20 30 percent participation, it gives that foundation or corporation confidence in us as a school.”
To celebrate the conclusion of the campaign at the end of the fiscal year, the development office will “piggyback” on an Alumni Association summer activity. “The Alumni Association officers are looking at doing something, whether it be a crab feast or something with the golf festival. [However], I hope a simple thank you will be enough for folks,” Lang said.
For next year, “We haven’t set our strategic objectives yet for next year but we have a very aggressive mail campaign, aggressive email campaign, we also do a great deal of work doing individual one-on-one meetings with key constituents,” Sudbrink said.
The school’s relationship with the Dresher foundation “has been a wonderful partnership,” Sudbrink said. “Many of the members of the family are alumni. They’ve always had a strong love and passion for the school. The Dresher foundation gives in the area of education and Harford County,” Sudbrink said.
According to the Dresher Foundation’s mission statement, the organization is “especially interested in providing educational opportunities and serving pre-selected family and human needs in Harford County, Baltimore County, and Baltimore City.”
Different from this challenge is the five year, $500,000 grant given by the foundation in 2007 to “help build the capacity of the Development Office,” according to Sudbrink. “The money has helped with marketing materials, staffing, and it has helped with enhancing our donor database and resource.”
Kate Froehlich can be reached for comment at [email protected]