It was a request, but more of a challenge.
Could the University of the Virgin Islands get its alumni to give at an unprecedented rate? The task was placed at Linda Smith’s feet. She accepted – and UVI is glad she did.
“It was truly a labor of love but this is so much bigger than myself,” said Smith, Annual Giving and Alumni Affairs director. “We are humbled. We never thought it would be anything like this.”
The University of the Virgin Islands’ Alumni Association has been nominated for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) National Alumni Association of the Year Award. UVI earned the nomination because it increased its alumni’s giving rate by 223 percent in 2012 through Smith’s aggressive and comprehensive fundraising.
The campaign was termed “50 for 50” because it encouraged 50 percent of UVI graduates to give back to the university during the institution’s 50th anniversary year.
The idea was suggested by Vice President of Institutional Advancement Dionne Jackson, fleshed out by President David Hall, championed by “50 for 50” fundraising co-chair Sam Hall and UVI outgoing Alumni Trustee Marthious Clavier and finally brought to fruition by Smith.
“We changed the strategy. Instead of waiting for alumni to come to us we went to them,” Smith said. “We extended our hours. We worked nights, weekends and holidays. This was not an 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. campaign.”
The winner will be announced at the Third Annual HBCU Awards on June 28, on the Jackson State University Campus, in Mississippi. The award nomination is partly based on the national exposure the UVI received as a result of this accomplishment.
Hall promoted this achievement in an article titled “Virgin Islands Miracle,” which was featured in The Huffington Post, the HBCU Digest, the Tom Joyner Foundation website, HBCU Connect and was involved in an Academic Impressions case study.
Smith said she was informed Monday that Business Officer magazine also featured UVI in its June edition. The National Business Officers Association publishes the magazine to promote the best business practices of independent schools.
The HBCU Awards acknowledges and celebrates achievement at historically black colleges and universities throughout the United States, said Jarrett Carter Sr., founder of the event, HBCU Digest and the Center for HBCU Media Advocacy. Crowning winners in the fields of leadership, arts, athletics, research, and community engagement, the HBCU Awards is the first and only event to recognize the influence and impact of HBCUs on American culture, Carter said.
“If nobody celebrates us then we’re going to do it ourselves,” said Carter, a Maryland native and graduate of Morgan State University. “I’m just fine with that.”
Winners in each category are selected by a secret ballot of 13 HBCU presidents. The award is presented by the Center for HBCU Advocacy, Inc. The other HBCUs nominated for the award are Tuskegee University, Spelman College, Morgan State University, and Winston-Salem State University.
Smith led the institution’s “50 for 50” fundraising campaign which aimed to increase the annual giving rate from 13 percent to 50 percent.
UVI fell short at 42 percent – but to put this number into perspective, Hall said many HBCUs have alumni giving rates that are less than 10 percent and when he became president of UVI in 2009, the institution’s alumni giving rate was at six percent, according to a UVI press release.
Major ranking systems, such as U.S. News and World Report, use alumni contributions as an important indicator in their calculation of the best colleges and universities in the country, he said.
Smith was told of the committee’s decision to initiate “50 for 50” while Hall was informed another HBCU, Claflin University in South Carolina, was on the verge of reaching the 50 percent mark and was already at 45 percent at the time. Smith and her staff came to know the Claflin staff personally and used this to fuel a friendly rivalry.
The UVI graduating classes got involved and created their own rivalries. Smith had conference calls with leaders from 48 UVI graduating classes to help fundraising, and the competitive juices took over.
Current students participated as well. Smith said 77 percent of the 2012 graduating class gave to the program.
Soon “50 for 50” was ringing all throughout campus, at every 50th anniversary event and on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.
Smith instituted a rapid response system when it came to alumni complaints and concerns during marathon sessions of phone calls to graduates. She and her staff of volunteer students solicited graduates at Carnival, the Agricultural Fair, jazz concerts and performances at Reichhold Center for the Arts. Any event with UVI alumni present, they were there, Smith said.
This was all done with a small staff composed of alumni and mostly volunteer students. Smith only has one full-time employee.
Hall documented the genesis of the idea in the Huffington Post article. Hall said during a Board of Trustees meeting in 2011 fiscal year, Jackson proposed a goal to increase alumni contribution to 16 percent. Another committee member suggested 20 percent because of UVI’s upcoming 50th anniversary. Hall suggested a 50 for 50 campaign for 2012 where they encourage 50 percent of UVI graduates to give back to the university during the institution’s 50th anniversary year, according to the Huffington Post editorial. The Committee agreed.
Now that the benchmark has been set can UVI’s alumni network maintain it?
“Why not?” Smith said. “We’re already at the 27 percent mark for next year. We’re confident.”
