The Double Challenge:
Investing in Rockefeller College

In an era of declining state support for public higher education across the country, it is vital that universities and colleges identify new resources that can be invested to support our mission of teaching, research, and service. In addition to external funding from groups such as foundations, these investments traditionally come from stakeholders including students, faculty, and alumni.

In a survey of 1,800 schools by US News and World Report, on average 14 percent of alumni make some form of financial contribution each year.  At Middlebury College, over 57 percent of alumni give to the institution annually.  Faculty and staff are also important financial supporters.  According to the Council for Aid to Education (CAE), the average annual percentage of faculty and staff giving ranged from 19 percent at research universities to 26 percent at liberal arts colleges.  Although students quite understandably give at much lower rates, establishing a tradition of giving among students (e.g., a class gift) also is a major focus at most universities and colleges.  To build on Rockefeller College’s long tradition of alumni, faculty and student giving we are introducing the Double Challenge.

Challenge #1: Rockefeller College Student-Faculty Challenge

Students graduating from the MPA program have begun a tradition of presenting a class gift for student scholarships at the graduation ceremony.  This generous act is an important symbolic step as our graduating class transitions from current students to active alumni.  The overarching goal is to establish a tradition of giving among future classes.  The value of the gift is not measured by its dollar value alone; students typically face a number of financial constraints and are not expected to give large gifts.  The goal of getting as many students as possible to participate in the gift reflects its true value. The student-faculty challenge addresses this goal.
 
The Student-Faculty Challenge: Rockefeller College (PAD and POS) graduating master’s and doctoral students have challenged the Rockefeller College tenured or tenure track faculty to make a gift on a percentage basis equal to the percentage of students giving to the class gift.  So if thirty percent of the graduating students give to the College and twenty percent of the tenure track faculty gives to the College, the students win the challenge.  What happens if the faculty loses the challenge?  The faculty agrees to contribute 100 times the difference in the percentage.  So if thirty percent  of the students give to the College and only twenty percent of faculty make a gift, volunteers from the faculty will provide a $1,000 contribution to the class gift (i.e., (30-20) x  100=1000).  If the students lose the challenge, then next year they have a target for victory.  University Development officers (rather than Rockefeller College administrators or staff) will make all calculations in order to keep the donation process confidential.

UPDATE (5/17/12):
The results from Stage One of the Spring 2012 Double Challenge Are In
Faculty 72%    Students 32%

This is a tremendous accomplishment for the first year of the challenge. The faculty giving rate is the highest of any academic unit on the University at Albany campus and far exceeds average rates of faculty giving at both research universities and liberal arts colleges. The student giving rate is an all-time high for Rockefeller College. Congratulations!

Challenge #2: Rockefeller College Faculty-Alumni Challenge

One of the first questions most donors ask fundraisers is: “Have you given to this particular cause?”  The question is legitimate. If: the fundraiser does not see the cause as sufficiently important to support, why should the donor?  As we increase our efforts to obtain gifts from foundations and other external funding sources, it is important to demonstrate that the faculty and alumni are willing to invest in Rockefeller College. 

The Faculty/Student-Alumni Challenge: All Rockefeller College faculty (tenure track and adjuncts) and graduate students challenge the alumni to match the total of all gifts from the first phase of the Double Challenge on a 2:1 basis.  For example, given that the faculty and students contributed $4,000 to the Rockefeller College Double Challenge from April 2nd to May 14th 2012, we challenge thealumi to match this collective donation with an $8,000 gift.  If faculty made an unrestricted gift or direct the money toward a particular program (e.g., the Model UN/EU program or the Center for Women in Government and Civil Society), the alumni match will go to the program directed by the faculty member. So, if a faculty member gave $1000 to the Model UN/EU program, the alumni match of $2,000 would go to that program. Once again, University Development officers (rather than Rockefeller College administrators or staff) will make all calculations in order to keep the donation process confidential. 
The Faculty/Student-Alumni Challenge will run for 6 weeks from June 1st to July 13th.  Although a 2:1 match is our goal for this first year, we would be delighted to have alumni investments in the College that far exceed this goal.

UPDATE (8/1/12):
The results from Stage Two of the Spring 2012 Double Challenge Are In!
Our Alumni Beat the 2:1 Goal by Raising $8,306

If you have questions about the Double Challenge or other ways of investing in Rockefeller College (e.g., the Alumni in the Classroom Program), please feel free to contact Interim Dean Rousseau at 518-442-5244 or drousseau@albany.edu.