Faculty, staff invited to 'open doors' through Annual Campaign
From the Development Office, Institutional Advancement
A long, cold Minnesota winter hasn’t been able to cool down the energy generated from the announcement of St. Thomas’ Opening Doors Capital Campaign. Everyone who attended the kick-off events on the St. Paul and Minneapolis campuses can remember the excitement when Father Dease announced the $60 million gift from Lee and Penny Anderson and the fact that the Opening Doors campaign had already received $310 million dollars in gifts and pledges toward a goal of $500.
It is time to build on this momentum by conducting the most successful Faculty and Staff Annual Campaign at St. Thomas. The goal is to achieve our largest number of participants in the history of the school. The record is 19 percent. We would like to at the very least double this number. In order to do this, we ask all faculty and staff to consider making a gift. You should be receiving you campaign materials through the campus mail this week.
The Opening Doors campaign is truly a campaign for the entire St. Thomas community. The priorities include the construction of a new student center and athletic facilities, undergraduate and graduate scholarships, endowed chairs and deanships, enhancements to current facilities such as the chapel, the OEC auditorium, the Rome campus and the Gainey Center. If the Opening Doors priorities aren’t among your philanthropic interests, you can still participate by designating your gift to something on campus that does interest you. All gifts to St. Thomas ultimately count toward our $500 million goal for the campaign.
A successful on-campus campaign sends an additional positive message to those alumni, parents and friends who contribute to St. Thomas that the people closest to the university support this fundraising effort. A high number of faculty and staff donors are crucial when St. Thomas submits requests for funding from foundations and corporations. We are competing with other universities for these limited funds, and if all things appear equal among campuses, the difference on who receives funding may come down to which campus receives the most support from its internal audience. This has not been a strong point for St. Thomas in the past.
When you receive your Faculty and Staff Annual Campaign materials, you will have the opportunity to specify where to want you gift to go. You can choose from any of the Opening doors priorities or just about any other program or department on campus. You will also have the opportunity to select the method in which you make your gift. You can choose from writing a check, using a credit card, online giving through St. Thomas’ secure Web site, electronic fund transfer from your checking account or a monthly charge to a credit card and the very easy payroll deduction. However you choose to make your gift, please know that the amount of your gift is not as important as the fact that you are participating in this effort to strengthen St. Thomas. All giving information is confidential. The amount of your gift or who has participated will not be shared with anyone outside the St. Thomas Development Office.
If you have questions regarding the campaign or making a gift, please call John Bannigan in the Development Office , (651) 962-6982.
