Newman University strives to ensure a high degree of congruence between its mission and that of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ (ASC).
“Empowering graduates to transform society” is an important part of the mission of Newman University. It doesn’t matter the background you come from, whether you’re poor or rich, Newman has and always will offer students a way to receive a great education to those who take advantage of the opportunity.
One of the ways the university has been able to uphold this mission and opportunity is through the Newman Annual Fund, which supports unfunded scholarships for students — the majority of aid Newman awards to students.
Vice President for University Advancement J.V. Johnston reported that currently $622,000 has been raised for the Newman Fund for the 2016-2017 academic year, which exceeds the $600,000 goal.
How was the goal met? Johnston and the Advancement team standardize their processes and stay consistent every month, but there were three specific key steps that were made that ultimately led to reaching the overall goal:
- Continue to engage alumni.
- Tell the story of how Newman University helps students and share the university mission.
- Make a lot of phone calls and reach out to donors.
But following these steps is only one step of reaching the $622,000 goal — it takes the right people. All of the Advancement team members were essential in exceeding the Annual Fund goal. Sarah Strole, director of alumni relations & annual giving; Brielle Dunham, alumni relations & annual giving coordinator; and David Alexander, former senior development officer, all played a huge role in the success.
“Sarah is actually in charge of the Annual Fund,” Johnston added, “and getting out and making those visits. She’s doing a great job of asking, too. It’s a team effort and it’s about telling our story.”
Telling the story of Newman University helping students has a huge impact on the donors of the Newman Annual Fund.
“The University Relations Department helps with Facebook posts about the students and our stories of Newman University,” Johnston said.”That’s what really resonates with people. When you tell them what’s really happening here, then they get it, if you just tell them, ‘Hey we need money,’ they think, ‘yeah right! So does everybody.’ But when you tell the story of what’s really happening here, kids getting an opportunity, the donors can connect and are touched.
“You’re giving them an opportunity for an education to get a better job than their parents had, to live a better life — that’s important. But that goes back to the mission of the sisters. They really wanted to give students without opportunity an opportunity. I think that’s what separates our mission from a lot of other Catholic schools is [that we give] that opportunity, and I think that’s pretty neat,” Johnston concluded.
