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Senior Campaign poised to break 85 percent participation

By Meggie Wade '09
May 24, 2007

"We are students for four years," says Allison Fry '07, coordinator of the Student Alumni Association (SAA), "but alumni for the rest of our lives."

That's why the Senior Class Campaign is so important. It educates students about giving back to their soon-to-be alma mater through Partners in Annual Giving.

The campaign, which began last December, currently sits at 80 percent participation and more than $8,200 in gifts and pledges.

Lauren Henkel '07 and Andy Tompsett '07
Henkel and Tompsett
Co-chairs Lauren Henkel '07 and Andy Tompsett '07 are personally committed to encouraging philanthropy. To that end, they invited Stacey Pinski '99, a financial associate at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans in Burnsville, Minn., to address students about financial planning.

"Stacey did a seminar for students about planning for their financial future," says David Wagner '03, the Partners in Annual Giving office's liaison to the senior campaign. "She talked about how to give, even if you don't have a lot of money."

Henkel and Tompsett had ambitious goals for this year's senior campaign. They began by inviting 110 seniors to be involved in the organizing committee.

"We were looking for key players and a wide-ranging cross-section of the class to make a big impact," says Henkel, a social work major from Des Moines, Iowa.

Eyes on the prize
On average, every Ole graduates from college about $17,000 in debt. Many are headed off to graduate school or new jobs. That makes it challenging to encourage philanthropy.

"About one in five people are set against donating," says Tompsett, a biology major from Nashotah, Wis. "The average dissenter may say, 'I'm not giving money because I've already paid enough.' That's why helping people understand the concept of lifelong philanthropy is important. We want to create a committed class and reach out to future generations."

Last December, Henkel and Tompsett asked their committee members to start a dialogue with classmates and solicit pledges. "From the beginning we realized that pledging isn't exactly the first thing students want to do," Tompsett says. "So our goal was to teach them why they should."

Henkel and Tompsett divided their efforts into three areas: education, camaraderie and connection to the college. "We want to develop seniors' relationships as alumni with St. Olaf," says Henkel. "One of the simplest ways to do this is to ask: 'What has St. Olaf given you?'"

Henkel and Tompsett aim to reach 85 percent participation for this year's campaign. That would beat the 2005 senior campaign, which had a record-breaking 83 percent participation rate.

To inspire their classmates, many seniors are sporting T-shirts that read, in Norwegian, "Give money, yes," as a visual reminder to pledge. A giant thermometer tracking the number of pledges recently appeared in Buntrock Commons.

Senior Campaign 2007
Priscilla Paton (far left) and President David R. Anderson '74, along with Senior Campaign co-chairs Lauren Henkel '07 (far right) and Andy Tompsett '07, join Ole the Lion during the Senior Campaign Kickoff.
President David R. Anderson '74 and his wife, Priscilla Paton, have pledged to donate their own dollars every time the Class of 2007 reaches a benchmark participation goal. For every 10 percentage points above 50, Anderson and Paton will donate $1,000, with the final goal-achieving 5 percentage points worth an additional $1,000.

Learning to give back
The senior campaign has adopted a strategy similar to that of the Partners in Annual Giving office. It's not how much you give that counts first, but whether you give at all. Building the habit of philanthropy is key.

"Everything you can give counts," Tompsett says. "Fifty percent of all gifts last year were under $100."

Meanwhile, the Student Alumni Association is working to raise awareness of how the senior campaign affects the lives of current students.

"We all benefit from alumni giving. We aim to help students realize how important philanthropy is for each generation," says Fry, the SAA coordinator.

Allison Fry '07
Fry
"So many alumni are still connected to the college and want St. Olaf to be a thriving place for students today," she says. "Once we graduate, we'll enter that environment of helping each other out."

In April the SAA organized its first philanthropy week, which began with the ad campaign "Imagine St. Olaf Without Partners."

Throughout the week the committee hosted events to demonstrate the importance of giving back to the college. "We tried to make students see that the senior campaign provides money for things not covered by tuition, such as wireless Internet access and new furniture in the Fireside Lounge," says Fry.

"I would encourage students to think about how much value they are getting at St. Olaf," she adds. "When I graduate I will remember that I had a great time on the Hill, and I want to make sure that students in the following generations can have a good experience as well."

Wagner, who joined the Partners staff last November after serving as a St. Olaf admissions counselor, is enjoying the energy going into this year's campaign. "The great thing about student leaders is that they come at this with new ideas every year. My role is to help facilitate the behind-the-scenes work and to empower Andy and Lauren to do what they would like to do.

"If anything," he jokes, "I'm working to keep up with them."

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.