Generous Alumni Elevate Donations
October 22, 2009 • By Aaron Koepper,
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HARRISONBURG, Va. — In tough economic times, most people are forced to cut back: They eat in instead of going out, businesses and companies tighten their budgets, downsize and buckle down.
However, at JMU, tough times have inspired giving in the form of Madison For Keeps, an emergency fund providing money to students who can’t afford to return next semester even with financial aid.
SGA has passed around a can for donations at their meetings and the Girls of Madison Calendar plans on donating 10 percent of the proceeds to Madison For Keeps. But none of those can match the largest single donation, $25,000 donated by the Board of Directors of JMU’s Alumni Association.
The Board hoped their donation would inspire other alumni, students and faculty to do the same, so that every student who applies for Madison For Keeps can return next semester.
“We wanted to step forward and do something that we thought would be meaningful and hoping that other alumni would hear about it and would do whatever they can to help students,” said A.J. Fischer, president of the alumni association’s board of directors.
Organizers of Madison For Keeps have seen 1,103 donors give $111,495 since the program began Sept. 15, many of whom are first-time donors. 97 percent of the donors have been alumni, with some students, faculty and parents also donating.
“The excitement is a lot more than when we’re typically raising money,” said Andy Perrine, associate vice president of Communications and Marketing. “A lot of young alumni who have never given before are excited about this.”
On Monday, Madison For Keeps posted applications on its Web site for those needing to apply for aid, and organizers expect to receive roughly 200 to 400 applicants, which they will review on a case-by-case basis.
Madison For Keeps does not guarantee that everyone whom applies will receive aid.
Organizers however emphasize that the more people who donate, the more aid can be distributed to all who apply.
“If every alumnus donated just a small amount of money, we would have more than enough to cover the needs for every student that wants aid but cannot receive it,” Perrine said.
The initiative has also appealed directly to students and faculty: a video ran at halftime during the Oct. 10 Richmond football game, fliers have been posted around campus, and students, such as junior music education major Anthony Bowman, have posted testimonies on YouTube to appeal for donations.
“The music ed program here is a really great experience, because they’re able to focus on education and performance,” said Bowman in his video. “When I got here for marching band camp, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to stay” for the semester.
Bowman emphasized that students looking to benefit from the donations are not seeking a “free ride” from donors but rather have run out of other options to stay and simply don’t have enough money from financial aid.
“I’m out of state, so I have the federal loans I qualify for, but I can’t get [Virginia] state grants because I’m not in-state,” Bowman said.
Bowman’s campaign goes beyond his own financial security; he and other students are campaigning for the initiative hope that it could cover every student currently at risk of not returning to JMU.
Contact Aaron Koepper at koeppead@jmu.edu.
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