Donors respond to budget crunch
By BILL MANNY
Ol the Emerald
These may be tough times for
tuition-paying students and tax
paying citizens. But bad times
can be good times for fund
raisers.
“People can see an obvious
need,” says Doug Wilson,
whose job as executive director
of the University Foundation in
cludes telling potential donors
just how bad times are for
higher education.
Pleas that have gone un
heeded in better times are being
heard today, and donations
have taken a remarkable upturn
since Wilson became head of
the foundation in June of 1979.
The number of donors has
doubled in the past 18 months,
and foundation assets have in
creased 50 percent in the same
time.
Events and news stories,
along with information from the
University, have shown the
public “that we really do need
support,” Wilson explains.
“And our requests are being
heard.”
In times of hardship, fund
raising success becomes more
important — and every dollar
becomes more difficult.
“We’ll have to work even
harder,” Wilson says. “The
competition will be extra keen
just in higher education.”
The University’s art museum
was built with volunteer time
and dollars during the Depres
sion, Wilson notes. So universi
ties don’t have to stand still
each time the nation’s economy
dips.
But bad times aren’t the only
reason for the foundation’s
success. The foundation’s
"systematic form of asking peo
ple for their support,” has
helped immensely.
“We’ve been more direct in
getting out our needs and tak
ing our case to our friends,"
Wilson says.
The foundation has cen
tralized fund raising,
coordinating the efforts of each
department, school and facility
into one cogent plan to avoid
confusing, alienating or offend
ing potential donors.
The funding of a university is
much like a birthday cake, Wil
son says. Tuition and tax dollars
provide the majority of funding,
the cake itself.
The donations a university
collects constitute the icing.
And that occasional special gift
— money for a building addition,
an academic chair, the donation
of a large chunk of valuable
property — becomes the can
dles burning on top.
Frosting that cake — and
hopefully sticking in a candle
once in a while — is Wilson’s
job.
As executive director, Wilson
oversees a staff of 13, a budget
of several hundred thousand
dollars and the 600 individual
accounts maintained by the
foundation.
To reach donors, the founda
tion mails out 300,000 pieces of
mail each year.
Wilson has worked almost
exclusively in alumni relations
and fund-raising since he
graduated from Miami Universi
ty with a master’s degree in
1965.
A 45-member trustee board
along with ex-officio members
has legal responsibility for the
foundation’s $10 million in as
sets and some $3 million more a
year in “currently expendable"
income.
Raising funds at the Universi
ty is a three-pronged scheme,
Wilson says, and money flows
into the foundation through
three primary routes.
Young alumni receive the
magazine and are asked to start
with a small contribution to “just
be a part." They are asked to
give whatever they can, and are
thanked for what they can give.
Beginning early with personal
appeals helps create a broad
base of support and establishes
what the foundation hopes will
be a life-long friendship, Wilson
says.
“The most important gift a
person gives is the first. They
cross the threshold — and it's
one they cross mentally before
crossing financially."
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Foundation funds increase 50%
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And those $5 and $10 dona
tions add up. With 3,500 to
4,000 yearly graduates, small
donations can amount to quite a
lot. Still, Wilson notes, 10 per
cent of the donors contribute 80
to 90 percent of all donations.
Small donors are asked the
next year to be bigger donors. In
a few years they’re encouraged
to donate annually. Still later,
donors contributing $25 to $99
are encouraged to join the $100
Century Club.
Giving clubs are the second
level for University donations.
Donors to the yearly Century
and Pioneer ($500) Clubs can
specify where half their dona
tions go. The other half goes
into the foundation and is "used
wherever the need is greatest.’’
Presidents Associates — the
elite of University donors — can
specify the entire amount of
donations. Donations upwards
of $5,000 qualify donors to
become permanent associates.
About 90 percent of all dona
tions are specified, Wilson says.
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Club giving is specifically de
signed to encourage donors to
increase their donations, Wilson
says.
The final of the three ap
proaches is deferred giving —
through wills, bequests or life
insurance.
Getting involved in people’s
posthumous plans can be a
sensitive part of the job, Wilson
concedes.
"It's a terribly personal thing
Some people just don’t want to
think about it."
But a little information has
convinced a lot of people that
giving after they've died can pay
off during their lifetime, Wilson
says.
U S. tax laws that allow tax
deduction of deferred dona
tions during the life of the donor
over five years is a great way to
beat inheritance tax, capital
gains tax and inflation.
And when potential donors
consider the legacy they leave
the University, Wilson says,
donations can be a considera
tion.
Donors come to the University
in a number of ways, but noth
ing promotes contact with the
University more than athletics.
Curt Simic, vice president for
public affairs, says that more
people look into the University
through the athletic window
than any other.
But Wilson doesn't see sports
as the foundation's hope. Now
he’s concentrating on “compu
terizing” the foundation's
mailing and appeal system to
save materials and time. The
first step will be completed in
September, and the computers
will allow the foundation to tar
get potential donors even more
personally.
Targeting donors, making
pitches, asking for money. Does
one in Wilson’s position ever
feel he's exploiting the “Univer
sity's friends?"
“What I’ve tried to do is not
raise money," Wilson explains,
“but participate in building a
better University.
“Raising money for the sake
of raising money is pretty cold.
But having a belief in the role
and the importance of higher
educaton — that's the reason.”
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U of O Day at the Capitol
Stand up for your interests!
Drastic cuts in higher education affect you.
This is your chance to voice your opinions on the Capitol
steps.
Monday, April 13 Rally in Salem
Speak with:
Representatives Senators
Mary Burrows Ed Fadeley
Margie Hendriksen Ted Kulongoski
Grattan Kerans Jim Gardner
Governor Victor Atiyeh
Transportation and rally buttons provided
Buses leave from Mac Court at 8:30 a.m., Monday, April 13
Sign up in Suite 4 EMU
It’s time to get involved now!
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For more information contact Rich Wilkins 686-3724