Kim Fuller, BFA 96, the Concordia University Alumni Association’s president, says the association’s matching gift campaign aimed to encourage new donors. “Even the smallest donation can still go towards helping students in need.”
The association promised to double any donation to Concordia’s Community Campaign made by recent grads — those from the classes of 2011 through 2016 — who are donating for the first time.
Kim Fuller, BFA 96, president of the alumni association, explains that the association launched the matching campaign to offset potential concerns by recent graduates who felt they could not yet afford to pass along larger sums. “What I heard from young alumni is that they felt like they didn’t have much to give,” she says.
“They had a shyness and felt, ‘If I can only give a few bucks, will that make a difference?’ The matching campaign was a way to encourage the next generation of new donors and give a little more oomph to their gifts.”
Recent graduates jumped at the opportunity to double their donation and quickly surpassed the alumni association’s maximum of $7,350. The support went to more than 40 designations, including Space Concordia; scholarships, bursaries and fellowships; and the Concordia Library.
The remaining funds of the association’s gift will be split primarily between its existing endowments: the Concordia University Alumni Association Scholarship and Bursary Endowment, the Association of Alumni of Sir George Williams Scholarship and Bursary Endowment and the Loyola College Alumni Endowment, the latter two created by graduates of Concordia’s founding institutions.
Fuller is thrilled that the association could make such a significant contribution this year. “We want the money to be in the hands of people who need it the most,” she says.
The association’s leadership stated they hope the generosity demonstrated by recent grads is only just the beginning of their bright, prosperous and philanthropic future.