The Willamette Annual Fund team has set a new record for fundraising — and staff say they couldn’t have done it without the help of the campus community.
After faculty and staff alerted the annual fund team to inspirational students whose stories were then included in annual fund mailing solicitations and messaging, the 2016–17 Willamette Annual Fund now stands at over $1 million, the most it’s ever reached by this point in the fiscal year.
With gifts from thousands of generous donors, the Willamette Annual Fund directly supports students, faculty, programs, facilities and every area of the university. Last year, without the $1.4 million raised by the 2015–16 annual fund, the university would have had to secure an extra $28 million for the endowment or increase tuition by $1,000 per student.
“We want to thank faculty and staff for providing great student stories that inspired alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends to give back and support Willamette,” says Shelby Radcliffe, vice president for advancement.
“Thanks to you, we’re well on our way to reaching our goal of $1.5 million this year — money that is immediately invested back into our students to give them the very best Willamette experience.”
If you have an inspirational student story to share with Advancement, email details to Kari Olson ’07, associate director for the Willamette Annual Fund, at kolson@willamette.edu or phone 503-370-6328.