It's been said that true greatness comes from within.
The Office of
Annual Giving couldn't
agree more, and hopes employees feel the same.
On Thursday, the office will launch the 2008 faculty,
staff and retiree annual giving campaign.
The fund-raising effort comes at a pivotal time in the
university's history. At the close of this
year, the Johns Hopkins Knowledge for the World campaign is
scheduled to end. The campaign, which
began in July 2000, has raised more than $3 billion to date
from more than 224,000 donors, including
more than $460 million for student financial aid and
endowments for more than 78 new faculty chairs.
The 2008 employee campaign also will be the last for
President William R. Brody, who will retire
in December after 12 years at the post. Brody will launch
the initiative with a letter and contribution
form that gets mailed out to 4,945 faculty and staff
members and 1,202 retirees. (Not included are
current donors and those who have given more than $10,000
lifetime, as well as bargaining units,
temporary employees and student employees.)
In the letter, Brody says that no one understands the
importance of Johns Hopkins more than
those who work here.
"What we do matters," he wrote. "We see that every day
in the accomplishments of our
students, the important new discoveries we make and the
success of our university. But there are new
challenges we face, and new opportunities on the horizon.
We need resources to meet them: financial
aid for promising students, support for faculty and staff,
and funds for deans and department heads
to make Johns Hopkins even better."
The annual campaign is a concerted effort to engage
faculty, staff and retirees in the life of
the university and deepen their investment in Johns
Hopkins' mission. The theme of this year's
campaign is "Your World. Your Johns Hopkins, A university
where you work, give and grow."
Gifts can be unrestricted to the university or a
school, or designated to a department, program
or fund. A person can donate specifically to the School of
Engineering or Nursing, for example, or to
arts programs, intercollegiate athletics or undergraduate
scholarships.
Participants are encouraged to give through payroll
deduction and to complete the form by May
15.
Historically, most unrestricted annual fund money is
used to provide students with financial aid.
The gifts, which are put to use the year they are received,
also help fund fellowships, research,
capital projects and a host of other purposes. In terms of
unrestricted funds to the university, the
president determines the areas of most pressing need.
Likewise, the deans determine where
unrestricted money to the schools should go.
In fiscal year 2007, faculty, staff and retirees
contributed $1.35 million to the annual fund.
Fritz Schroeder, senior associate vice president for
development, said that employees are able
to give wherever their hearts and minds take them. He said
they can support funds to which alumni
already give generously, such as a parent-seeded
undergraduate scholarship program, or to the
research of a junior faculty member who has not yet
received such philanthropy.
Schroeder said that gifts from employees help forge a
sense of community and send a strong
and important message to alumni and outside donors.
"We can show them that the people who live and breathe
our work here daily also think about
the importance of philanthropic support to this great
institution," he said. "Anyone who works at
Johns Hopkins, in whatever department, understands the
importance that private support plays."
Travers Nelson, program manager in Facilities
Management, said that he came to this realization
several years ago — with some subtle coaxing from
Ross Jones, vice president and secretary emeritus
and devoted supporter of the university's mission. Jones
and Nelson had worked closely on a building
project.
"There are so many people here who are like Ross:
smart, creative and dedicated to goals much
larger than themselves," said Nelson, who gives an
unrestricted gift to the university each year. "This
is an exhilarating place to work, and I want to support the
effort and all the good things that Johns
Hopkins is doing."
On May 19, Johns Hopkins Medicine will launch a
faculty, staff and retiree fund-raising
initiative called the Johns Hopkins Family Campaign. In
that effort, employees can designate a gift in
the categories of buildings, The Johns Hopkins Hospital
unrestricted, School of Medicine
unrestricted, Bayview Medical Center unrestricted or
"other." Those who give $500 or more will have
their name put on a donor wall at either the new
Cardiovascular and Critical Care Tower on the East
Baltimore campus or on the Bayview campus.
For more information on annual giving, go to:
www.johnshopkins.edu/annualfund.
To learn more about the Johns Hopkins Family Campaign, go
to:
www.insidehopkinsmedicine.org/familycampaign.
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