Faculty/Staff Campaign
The Dean's Musings
This article was Originally published in the April 1999 issue of CLASnotes.
Fund raising is big business these days. CLAS brings in over $10 million annually from private sources to support critical College and departmental needs, including scholarships, fellowships, professorships, and the construction or renovation of academic facilities.
The UF Capital Campaign has been very successful; so successful, in fact, that not long ago the campaign goal was raised by 50% from $500 million to $750 million, a formidable but attainable target. The CLAS goal was simultaneously increased from $30 million to $45 million, and we expect to achieve that figure.
The chief fundraisers in CLAS are myself, Carter Boydstun (Director of Development) and Jennifer Denault (Associate Director of Development). Carter has been with CLAS now through two successful capital campaigns since 1990, and his leadership has been outstanding. Jennifer joined the foundation in 1997 and has been an invaluable addition to our team.
Raising money for Arts & Sciences is not an easy job, whether at UF, Michigan, or Stanford. We cannot promise to save our donors' lives, provide legal defense, or build their roads and bridges. Carter and Jennifer have to convince people they should give to CLAS because our faculty can "save" students' minds. Based on their track record, they must be quite convincing.
CLAS donors are located all over the country. Many give without even being asked; their love for UF and CLAS is so high. But the large, critical gifts usually result from careful cultivation over time. It is important to explain the significance of each fundraising request and to document for potential donors the effect such a gift will have on our academic enterprise. CLAS alumni and friends are doing their part. It is now time to ask faculty and staff to consider their own participation.
Although the Foundation hasn't targeted faculty and staff until now, some of our largest gifts have come from CLAS faculty members who have donated to areas of personal significance, usually their own academic departments or programs. Of course, no one will be pressured to give anything. The UF faculty/staff campaign will be handled much like a United Way campaign, in which you alone decide what is best for you. Some of us earn more, and more should be expected from us. Others make less, and correspondingly, less should be expected. Payroll deduction makes this sort of thing as painless as possible.
It also comes as a surprise to many people that today's tax laws permit those with even fairly modest resources to make significant gifts to charitable organizations (such as UF) and still provide for their heirs. Only the federal government loses in these situations, so let us know if you would like to have one of the Foundation staff sit down with you and discuss your options.
For those of us out there on the road raising money, it makes our job easier if we can tell potential donors that large numbers of faculty and staff have participated and done their part. We are not asking for money to support the academic goals of the CLAS Office. We raise that money ourselves. Rather, we encourage you to give to projects that you care about—perhaps department or program initiatives. Please join us, and give at whatever level you can. CLAS will become ever stronger with your support.
Credits
Writer
Will Harrison, Dean
