Alumni Donations

[StillAWarrior]

So, Marquette, then?

Believe it or not, it was worse. Much worse.

[dgies9156]

So what school was this and when did they attend?

Southern Illinois University -- Carbondale. Both since 2014.

[Marquette Gyros]

The percentage quoted are alums who donate any amount - even $1.

Unless they have zero discretionary income (and if you purchase alcohol, you have discretionary income) people who claim they can't afford to donate anything are full of crap. If you don't want to donate, just be a grownup and say so.

$1 is pissin' in the wind when MU's got a billion dollar endowment, ai'na?

So is $100...

So is $1,000 (but that comes close to buying you into President's Society, which has to help with seating, yeah?)

You can see the impact of that $100 at my daughter's Montessori school a bit quicker than at MU...

[jsglow]

$1 is pissin' in the wind when MU's got a billion dollar endowment, ai'na?

So is $100...

So is $1,000 (but that comes close to buying you into President's Society, which has to help with seating, yeah?)

You can see the impact of that $100 at my daughter's Montessori school a bit quicker than at MU...

You couldn't be more uninformed.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

How?  A smaller amount of money can be seen to have a greater, more immediate impact at institutions with a smaller budget.

[StillAWarrior]

How?  A smaller amount of money can be seen to have a greater, more immediate impact at institutions with a smaller budget.

Tangent alert:  I always think about this when a celebrity goes on a game show and competes to win money for a designated charity.  Whenever I hear them choose a charity with a multi-billion dollar budget I can't help thinking that if I were in that position I'd want to play for a smaller charity for which the money could have a much more profound impact.  Many do play for smaller charities, but not as many as I'd expect.

[dgies9156]

You couldn't be more uninformed.

Absolutely agree with you Glow.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Southern Illinois University -- Carbondale. Both since 2014.

OK, but its hard to judge the cost of a public university when compared to a private one.  How much of their operations, infrastructure, etc. is being underwritten by tax revenue versus tuition revenue.

[mu_hilltopper]

How?  A smaller amount of money can be seen to have a greater, more immediate impact at institutions with a smaller budget.

I echo FBM here, because apparently I'm "uninformed" too.  How?

[dgies9156]

I echo FBM here, because apparently I'm "uninformed" too.  How?

A couple of reasons. First,  it demonstrates a level of commitment by an alumni base to the university. To its ideals, goals and objectives and to its future.

Second, at least it used to be, some charities and foundations that support universities based on the percentage of alumni who give. The greater the percentage of alumni who believe in what the university does, the more likely it becomes that XYZ Foundation would give millions.

Candidly, if your own people don't believe in you, why would anyone else. Small gifts, regardless of the size, are a sign of commitment by "your own people" who received the education and have applied their knowledge. It's an endorsement of what Marquette is about.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

A couple of reasons. First,  it demonstrates a level of commitment by an alumni base to the university. To its ideals, goals and objectives and to its future.

But what if I feel the ideals, goals and objectives of other charities are more important?

[MUBurrow]

A couple of reasons. First,  it demonstrates a level of commitment by an alumni base to the university. To its ideals, goals and objectives and to its future.

So this is where the "$1 donation" point actually kind of makes me uneasy.  Its used tell other similarly situated alumni that "Hey, X% of your class is donating! You might think you don't have the money but you do - people with less money than you are donating!" Financially, those donations are a rounding error, but its valuable as a development strategy to encourage donations and keep the development office connected with alumni. That's all well and good, but somewhere in there it feels a bit disingenuous as a number to use with grads less than 10 years out and paying back $750/month in student loans on $40,000/year salaries.  Again, I'm not saying its manipulative or bad per se, I just personally haven't completely settled out on how I feel about it.

[dgies9156]

But what if I feel the ideals, goals and objectives of other charities are more important?

I get that Brother Fluffy. Support them both!

Nobody is asking you or Ms. Fluffy to tithe to Marquette, or any other charity for that matter (well, OK, your Parish priest might be!). But sending something to support something important -- even small amounts -- matters.

Ms. Dgies and I get requests all the time (trust me, if you have a land line, you're bombarded). If it matters, we find a little extra room in the budget for the cause. It's what we all are called to do. As my Dad once said when I was in college and pleaded no money, "Uh, did you go out for beer last night..." Uhh, "yes sir," I responded. "uhh, then you have something..."

Charity is not an "either or" proposition. It is finding ways to better our fellow men and women.

P.S. -- Yes, I know, PBR and my Dad may not have been on the same page LOL!

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

I get that Brother Fluffy. Support them both!

Nobody is asking you or Ms. Fluffy to tithe to Marquette, or any other charity for that matter (well, OK, your Parish priest might be!). But sending something to support something important -- even small amounts -- matters.

Ms. Dgies and I get requests all the time (trust me, if you have a land line, you're bombarded). If it matters, we find a little extra room in the budget for the cause. It's what we all are called to do. As my Dad once said when I was in college and pleaded no money, "Uh, did you go out for beer last night..." Uhh, "yes sir," I responded. "uhh, then you have something..."

Charity is not an "either or" proposition. It is finding ways to better our fellow men and women.

P.S. -- Yes, I know, PBR and my Dad may not have been on the same page LOL!

My point is that $100 matters less to Marquette than it does a small, social service agency. I’ve supported a local family shelter and I can guarantee that $100 is more important to them from a budgetary perspective than it would be to Marquette.

[warriorchick]

How?  A smaller amount of money can be seen to have a greater, more immediate impact at institutions with a smaller budget.

You can still do that at larger organizations if you take advantage of special endowment funds.  For example, the American Heart Association has a  budget for research expenditures.  If you send them $100 and tell them you want it to go to "research", technically your money will indeed go to research, but nothing stops them from taking $100 out of the already allocated research dollars and using it for something else. It ends up being a wash.

However, if you donate $100 to the AHA's Scoop Endowment for the Prevention of Buzzerbeater-Provoked Heart Attacks, it increases the amount dedicated to that cause by $100.

I am actually a huge believer in donating small, and the following story is not to pat me and Glow on the back, but to give an example.

We have said before that our kids went to a magnet program that is located in an otherwise "At-Risk" school.  It is only about 30% white, even if you include the magnet program.  They struggle filling out sports teams because a lot of the kids have to work after school, or babysit their brothers and sisters while their parents work.  Glow jr. ran cross country, and their team had maybe 15-20 boys on it in a good year. They are in a conference that has a lot of schools from wealthy areas like St. Charles and Naperville that would bring two busloads of kids to a meet.

If you know anything about Cross Country in the Midwest, you know it's a fall sport, and in October and November, it can get pretty freaking cold standing outside waiting around before and after your race. All the wealthy schools had beautiful custom tents in the school colors to help keep the kids warm. Our school had one of those pop-up white canopies like you see at craft fairs with gray tarps tacked up on the sides.

It bothered me that our team was always the "ghetto school" at these meets, so I looked up the manufacturer of a particularly beautiful tent one of the other teams had, and discovered that the cost was quite reasonable and well within the Glow budget.  Working with the Athletic director, we ordered a tent that was a perfect match for our school colors, had the school logo on both main sides of the roof, with "[Glow jr.'s high school] Cross Country" emblazoned on the sides.

When the tent came in, we brought it to a team meeting and had the boys set it up. We were unprepared for the pure joy and gratitude we saw expressed by these kids.  One of them said, "This is one of the best days of my life". 


If you don't want to donate to Marquette generically, maybe there is a fund or cause you want to support.  Donate to Campus Ministry, or to the Mardi Gras service program, or to the James Foley Scholarship fund.

[warriorchick]

But what if I feel the ideals, goals and objectives of other charities are more important?

Then say that.  Who wouldn't respect that choice?

My beef is with people that say they don't donate to Marquette because they can't afford it, or because they are no longer the Warriors.

I am sure some underprivileged  kids who need scholarship money don't care what the team's nickname is.

[StillAWarrior]

You can still do that at larger organizations if you take advantage of special endowment funds.  For example, the American Heart Association has a  budget for research expenditures.  If you send them $100 and tell them you want it to go to "research", technically your money will indeed go to research, but nothing stops them from taking $100 out of the already allocated research dollars and using it for something else. It ends up being a wash.

However, if you donate $100 to the AHA's Scoop Endowment for the Prevention of Buzzerbeater-Provoked Heart Attacks, it increases the amount dedicated to that cause by $100.

I am actually a huge believer in donating small, and the following story is not to pat me and Glow on the back, but to give an example.

We have said before that our kids went to a magnet program that is located in an otherwise "At-Risk" school.  It is only about 30% white, even if you include the magnet program.  They struggle filling out sports teams because a lot of the kids have to work after school, or babysit their brothers and sisters while their parents work.  Glow jr. ran cross country, and their team had maybe 15-20 boys on it in a good year. They are in a conference that has a lot of schools from wealthy areas like St. Charles and Naperville that would bring two busloads of kids to a meet.

If you know anything about Cross Country in the Midwest, you know it's a fall sport, and in October and November, it can get pretty freaking cold standing outside waiting around before and after your race. All the wealthy schools had beautiful custom tents in the school colors to help keep the kids warm. Our school had one of those pop-up white canopies like you see at craft fairs with gray tarps tacked up on the sides.

It bothered me that our team was always the "ghetto school" at these meets, so I looked up the manufacturer of a particularly beautiful tent one of the other teams had, and discovered that the cost was quite reasonable and well within the Glow budget.  Working with the Athletic director, we ordered a tent that was a perfect match for our school colors, had the school logo on both main sides of the roof, with "[Glow jr.'s high school] Cross Country" emblazoned on the sides.

When the tent came in, we brought it to a team meeting and had the boys set it up. We were unprepared for the pure joy and gratitude we saw expressed by these kids.  One of them said, "This is one of the best days of my life". 


If you don't want to donate to Marquette generically, maybe there is a fund or cause you want to support.  Donate to Campus Ministry, or to the Mardi Gras service program, or to the James Foley Scholarship fund.

That's a nice story, Chick.  Good on you guys.  Also, it absolutely supports the point Fluffy was making.  I understand your love for Marquette and your enthusiastic encouragement for people to support it (and I was persuaded by you just a few days ago).  But your story illustrates the point that small contributions to smaller organizations can have a much more profound impact than to larger organizations.  Glow's "you couldn't be more uninformed" was a little over the top.

[StillAWarrior]

Then say that.  Who wouldn't respect that choice?

My beef is with people that say they don't donate to Marquette because they can't afford it, or because they are no longer the Warriors.

I am sure some underprivileged  kids who need scholarship money don't care what the team's nickname is.

What he said was that he felt his contribution would have more impact to a smaller organization.  A totally legitimate position.  Glow's response was, "you couldn't be more uninformed."  If you're all about encouraging people to be honest about why they don't give to Marquette, I'd think Glow's smug response would strike a cord with you.

[Galway Eagle]

Then say that.  Who wouldn't respect that choice?

My beef is with people that say they don't donate to Marquette because they can't afford it, or because they are no longer the Warriors.

I am sure some underprivileged  kids who need scholarship money don't care what the team's nickname is.

The no donating due to the name is the most idiotic reason I used to here when I was at Phonathon. And there were some ridiculous ones.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

You can still do that at larger organizations if you take advantage of special endowment funds.  For example, the American Heart Association has a  budget for research expenditures.  If you send them $100 and tell them you want it to go to "research", technically your money will indeed go to research, but nothing stops them from taking $100 out of the already allocated research dollars and using it for something else. It ends up being a wash.

However, if you donate $100 to the AHA's Scoop Endowment for the Prevention of Buzzerbeater-Provoked Heart Attacks, it increases the amount dedicated to that cause by $100.

I am actually a huge believer in donating small, and the following story is not to pat me and Glow on the back, but to give an example.

We have said before that our kids went to a magnet program that is located in an otherwise "At-Risk" school.  It is only about 30% white, even if you include the magnet program.  They struggle filling out sports teams because a lot of the kids have to work after school, or babysit their brothers and sisters while their parents work.  Glow jr. ran cross country, and their team had maybe 15-20 boys on it in a good year. They are in a conference that has a lot of schools from wealthy areas like St. Charles and Naperville that would bring two busloads of kids to a meet.

If you know anything about Cross Country in the Midwest, you know it's a fall sport, and in October and November, it can get pretty freaking cold standing outside waiting around before and after your race. All the wealthy schools had beautiful custom tents in the school colors to help keep the kids warm. Our school had one of those pop-up white canopies like you see at craft fairs with gray tarps tacked up on the sides.

It bothered me that our team was always the "ghetto school" at these meets, so I looked up the manufacturer of a particularly beautiful tent one of the other teams had, and discovered that the cost was quite reasonable and well within the Glow budget.  Working with the Athletic director, we ordered a tent that was a perfect match for our school colors, had the school logo on both main sides of the roof, with "[Glow jr.'s high school] Cross Country" emblazoned on the sides.

When the tent came in, we brought it to a team meeting and had the boys set it up. We were unprepared for the pure joy and gratitude we saw expressed by these kids.  One of them said, "This is one of the best days of my life". 


If you don't want to donate to Marquette generically, maybe there is a fund or cause you want to support.  Donate to Campus Ministry, or to the Mardi Gras service program, or to the James Foley Scholarship fund.

Great story Chick.

X-Country related - The canopy (not the nice tent Chick mentioned) with my kids high school logo disappeared.  My kids said the youth football program "borrowed" from the school and never returned.   My mom had a canopy that she no longer used and donated to my kids X-Country team.  One of the students on the team made a logo in Silkscreen Class and put on the canopy.  The kids were happy they created their own canopy and were not left out at Invitationals as one of the few schools without one.  (The school is a well off district but only spends money on football (very bad team), hockey (very bad team) and baseball (excellent team).

[Coleman]

I also donate sporadically for campaigns when I am contacted by MU, maybe once a year and usually only in small amounts ($25-$50). I donate more regularly to other charities that I care more about, primarily my local no-kill animal shelter. I agree with others that donations to smaller organizations are more impactful and meaningful to both the organization and me as the donor. So these organizations will probably always get my dollars before institutions like MU. Knowing a couple hundred bucks will literally save a dog's life will always trump what that money would do for MU.

I may choose to donate more meaningfully to MU once student loans are all paid off, which should be in the next couple years. It does rub me a bit that they start contacting you for donations so aggressively right after graduation. I started getting phonathon calls right away. It is a bit tone deaf when their average graduate is starting out with tens of thousands of dollars in debt.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

What he said was that he felt his contribution would have more impact to a smaller organization.  A totally legitimate position.  Glow's response was, "you couldn't be more uninformed."  If you're all about encouraging people to be honest about why they don't give to Marquette, I'd think Glow's smug response would strike a cord with you.

Thanks. When it comes down to it Marquette just isn’t as important to me as it others. Nothing good or bad about that.

[mu_hilltopper]

That's a nice story, Chick.  Good on you guys.  Also, it absolutely supports the point Fluffy was making.  I understand your love for Marquette and your enthusiastic encouragement for people to support it (and I was persuaded by you just a few days ago).  But your story illustrates the point that small contributions to smaller organizations can have a much more profound impact than to larger organizations.  Glow's "you couldn't be more uninformed" was a little over the top.

This, entirely.

Donate $100 to Marquette and it goes on a big wheelbarrow full of money the likes of which most other charities can't dream.

[dgies9156]

I had a story like Chick's.

We had a call from a program that needed money to aid an at-risk student with strong intellectual skills who needed help. The question wasn't, well, "you can get it from ________________ (fill in big charity, large donor, other organization)." Instead it was, "how much do you need," and "should the money be wired in or can you wait for a check?"

I won't go into more detail because the issue is close to home, but suffice to say, we did what we were called to do. At Marquette, we've given money to scholarships. I've argued on these pages and elsewhere  that yes, I'm fearful that I'm subsidizing big tuition increases. But I don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. I know that if I'm not there, maybe some deserving student who would get from Marquette what did couldn't go!

When students called me about donating to the Alumni Memorial Union years ago, I politely asked them how they were paying for Marquette. They said, "scholarships," and I asked them "where do you think the money that supports those scholarships comes from?"

Bottom line folks (warning, mild political comment coming): If you want to be part of the solution, you educate people. Marquette is part of the solution and I'm proud our investment is helping to educate folks. Period.

P.S. -- We do not ignore other needs either. It's not an either/or.

[Marquette Gyros]

This, entirely.

Donate $100 to Marquette and it goes on a big wheelbarrow full of money the likes of which most other charities can't dream.

.

Yep.

I'd still love to hear how $100 makes a difference at MU if anyone wants to take on this argument.

I'll write the check tomorrow if the argument is convincing enough...