Funds are flowing as Georgetown’s Office of Advancement gains fundraising momentum.
Opened in the last academic year, the Office has implemented several new strategies designed to strengthen alumni donations. Just last year, donations from 23,000 alumni totaled $21.3 million, yielding a 33 percent alumni participation rate.
According to Jeffrey Donahoe, senior director of advancement communications in the Office of Advancement, the office is attempting to work with alumni on a more personal level and broaden the scope of alumni donors. Thus far, the changes made to the Office’s fundraising strategies have produced positive results.
“As of February 2006, the fundraising progress for this fiscal year was a bit over $72,326,000,” Donahoe said. “As compared to this time last year, the dollar progress is ahead $2.2 million and participation is almost even.”
According to U.S. News, Georgetown’s current endowment is just under $750 million.
With the help of a market research team, the office has created surveys and opinion polls to research alumni opinions of the University and assess any gaps in information they have about the schools.
“We are also surveying donors to get a better sense of how they feel about their giving, whether they feel their gift is appreciated and what kind of ongoing connection they would like to have with the University,” Donahoe said.
The Office also plans to personalize the alumni giving process by tailoring its fundraising messages to specific donor groups.
“The cultivation of major gift process involves a lot of face-to-face contact, much of which involves faculty members and deans,” Donahoe said.
In addition, the Office has set a goal of meeting 10,000 new alumni over the next three to four years, Donahoe said.
