Endowed with Vision
New Focus for Juniata Fund Centers on Student Scholarships
It's a simple name change, but one that speaks volumes about the intent of the College as it works to make a Juniata education affordable to students from every walk of life. Now known as the Juniata Scholarship Fund, the annual giving fund has been refocused so that every dollar given to the College for the annual fund will go directly to support student scholarships.
"People give to help other people. Even if a person donates an entire building, the reason is to directly impact students," says Erik Evans, associate vice president of advancement. "This is an age of accountability and donors want to see the impact of their gift."
"This is an age of accountability and donors want to see the impact of their gift." -Erik Evans
Previously, The Juniata Fund donations went into the unrestricted gifts category, meaning the College could apply those funds to whatever it chose, ranging from building maintenance to computer purchases. Although Juniata has a phenomenal participation rate for donations to its annual fund, in many surveys alumni expressed that they would be more likely to give if there was a tangible recipient they could identify with.
"I was like a lot of others in that I didn't know what the fund was all about," explains Jodie Monger Gray '88, former chair of the Alumni Council, and newly named chair of the Juniata Scholarship Fund. "To better market the new fund, its purpose needed to be clear and it had to be more about current students."
Evans, Gray and the rest of the College's annual giving team held a mini-retreat to select a new direction for the annual fund, which brings in around $1.2 million in donations every year. The team suggested that the fund be directed to a pool that would be used to award need-based scholarships to incoming students, provided that they meet the academic standards of the College.
The cost of tuition and room and board per year at Juniata is $35,220, and although Juniata has kept its tuition increases below many other private institutions, tuition costs rise every year. In addition, the amounts of subsidized federal student loans has not increased in many years. "The gap of college affordability is growing wider," says Gray. "But we are moving in a direction that is really exciting. All alumni will know that their money is going directly to students."
Students at colleges across the country are taking on more and more debt to complete an undergraduate education, says John Hille, vice president for advancement and marketing. In addition, the relative level of assistance students receive from federal programs has not kept pace with rising college costs over the past 25 years. "Colleges are trying to raise more funds to fill this gap with scholarships," Hille says. "With the new direction of the Juniata Scholarship Fund, we are laying a foundation to educate our donors about how difficult it is today for students to afford college."
The Juniata Scholarship Fund will not affect other fund-raising scholarship entities at the College. Donors can give to an endowed scholarship, which will continue in perpetuity, with a donation of $30,000 or more, or to other programs that fit their interests.
The changes within the fund in turn became the genesis for some new ways for the College to approach raising funds. Linda Carpenter, director of annual giving, is overseeing several new initiatives.
"We are going in the direction of Class Fund Teams, rather than a single Class Fund Agent," Carpenter says. "Having a team of class members, all of whom have a network of classmates, makes it easier to maintain a class identity and legacy. Juniata's culture of community makes this very effective."
I've had the experience of meeting some of the students who benefited from the scholarship I started, and it was an amazing experience.
- - Jodie Monger Gray '88
Since introducing the Class Fund Team concept, more than 50 class fund agents have been added over 15 class years, with 2005, 2004, and 2000 having the largest number of team members. Fourteen additional classes are working in teams of at least two members. The Class Fund Team idea was inspired by Juniata's Class of 1973, which for the past decade has used a team of eight to solicit donations. Their approach has proven so effective that they are the youngest alumni class to have more than 50 percent class participation.
"I was class fund agent by myself for a couple of years and I put out a cry for help--Ed Quinter '73 answered--and every year the more I asked, the more people offered to help," says Mary Frye D'Ambrosia '73. "It's nice to have other people out there who have a long-range commitment to the College who are willing to reach out to people we have a common bond with."
The longstanding tradition of the Juniata Phonathon, which raises money for The Juniata Scholarship Fund, also is being tested--basically by evaluating e-mail contacts. Carpenter says students are contacting selected alumni by e-mail--call it a Type-a-thon--and establishing dialogues online. "Alumni covet their home time," Carpenter explains. "The alumni can respond when it's convenient and every e-mail will be individually sent by a student. We want all contact to be personal."
Scholarship Opportunity: Cultivating New Fields
Chris Peterson and Deb Frazier Peterson, both 1974 graduates, are living examples of the benefits of scholarship at Juniata College.
Both came to the College from small dairy farms not too far from Juniata's campus. Although their parents supported seeking careers outside of farming, neither Chris nor Deb dreamed they would be able to afford a private liberal arts education. Both students were able to reap financial aid through scholarships and came to Juniata rather than a public university. Although they did not know each other before coming to Juniata, a relationship grew.
Deb explains their educational and career paths as being like cow paths, twisting and winding through raising a family, employment at Juniata College, a stint at Harvard where Chris earned his MBA and Deb worked for the Harvard Business School alumni magazine. Then it was back to Juniata, where Chris returned to a faculty position, and Deb transitioned from directing the public information office to coordinating the inauguration of president emeritus Bob Neff.
From there they landed near Cornell University, where Chris received his doctorate, while Deb earned a master's degree in communication. Finally, the couple settled in East Lansing, Mich., where they both found a home at Michigan State University. Chris became a member of the business faculty, now serving as the Homer Nowlin Chair of Consumer-Responsive Agriculture and director of The MSU Product Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources. Deb earned her doctorate in philosophy and serves as assistant to the dean for international studies where she concentrates on MSU's study abroad program.
How did their start at Juniata prepare them for this multifaceted road to success? Chris' assessment: "I was taught how to think at Juniata, and that ability to analyze, synthesize and take action is attributed to the rigor I was put through there." As loyal contributors to Juniata's annual fund, the couple offers this advice to Juniatians, "If you have achieved something in your life, and have the ability to pay back, consider it a debt you owe. Opportunity was provided by those before you, and needs to be made available to others now."
-- Linda Carpenter, director of annual giving
"With tuition steadily on the rise, there are many students who just cannot afford tuition, and without these scholarships we would be missing the life-changing experiences at Juniata, " says Paul Fleisher '06, a senior from Pittsburgh.
In addition to these new programs, Juniata also will initiate a mini-marketing campaign for the fund called "Paying It Forward," based on the 2000 movie about a young boy who encourages others to generate acts of kindness by doing acts of kindness for others. It is hoped that each person touched in this way will respond by similar kindnesses to three others. Each class will be able to see how many student scholarships they are supporting by visiting the Web site. In addition, the financial aid office will show how much financial support each Juniata student is getting from the Juniata Scholarship Fund on student aid statements. "We also want to have students tell their personal stories on the Web site to teach alumni how directly their kindness affects students," Gray says. "I've had the experience of meeting some of the students who benefited from the scholarship I started, and it was an amazing experience."
Carpenter says the College believes the "Paying It Forward" idea can only build in momentum as more graduates hear about it. She also points out that contributions are important at any level. "Participation is key, since smaller gifts are combined to form scholarships. We ask our most recent graduates to contribute just five dollars their first year out, and add ten dollars more each year. Their contributions have an impact on overall giving and in our participation rate, which helps us improve our college ranking," she explains.
"One of the things that is important to me as an alumna is that our community is so strong and that we have a very spiritual and common connection to Juniata," Gray says. "This is a way to have a common goal as well as a tangible connection that further strengthens our bond to the College."