ONLINE GIVING: BEING TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER
March 7, 2001
More and more Americans are getting used to buying books, clothes, sporting goods and even cruises online, but making a gift to one's alma mater with the click of a mouse is still a relatively new idea.
The University of Richmond recently joined a growing number of colleges and universities-Princeton, Bucknell, Colgate, Furman and Wesleyan to mention just a few-by offering online giving via the home page of its Web site.
So far, Richmond has succeeded all expectations: $21,000 in its first month.
"Typically, there have been only four ways to approach prospective givers," says Chris Withers, vice president for development and university relations: "personal contact, phone, direct mail and special events." Online giving, he says is "a way to take advantage of the latest technology. It's quick and relatively painless."
Of those responding to a recent survey of Virginia colleges and universities, George Mason, James Madison, William & Mary, U.Va., Va. Tech, Mary Washington, VMI and Roanoke all said they have some form of online giving available. Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Washington and Lee, Hampden-Sydney, Radford and Sweet Briar all said they soon would launch online giving programs.
While several respondents said their online programs had not made
much of a splash so
far, all were optimistic they would take off in the near future.
John B. Syer, executive director of the Alumni Association at the University of Virginia, says his organization has been using online giving for about two and a half years. "It's been very successful by any cost analysis," he said. "We have seen increases across the board each cycle."
Withers says he initiated online giving at Richmond at the urging
of alumni, a number of
whom are members of the university's President's Council of Emerging
Leaders. "It's not necessarily a young thing, however,"
Withers cautions. Older alumni as well told him the university should
offer online giving.
The service is great for people whose lives are "busy, busy," Withers says, but "it is no substitute for person-to-person, face-to-face, eyeball-to-eyeball contact."
Building personal relationships is still the most important component in fundraising, he believes: "The more people get involved in electronic technology, the more they crave personal relationships."
In fact, Withers would like to make the online site "more personal," something like a welcoming statement that thanks individual donors for previous gifts of specific amounts the computer can quickly tabulate.
Withers believes the less fundraisers rely on regional campaigns and other "friend-raising" events, the greater a role online giving will play.
Withers predicts online giving at the University of Richmond and elsewhere will continue to grow. "As we become busier and busier, the more likely we will send gifts with our Palm Pilots or via a computer in our cars."
In fact, he says he would not be surprised to see online giving in December of this year double from giving last year during the same time period. December is traditionally the busiest month of the year in college fundraising.
"It's a painless way to make a gift to something you have a passion about."
To check out the University of Richmond's online site, go to www.richmond.edu and click on "Giving to UR."