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Employees campaign exceeds goal
Celebrating the success of the Employees Campaign for the Community are, from left, President John B. Simpson, Ruth Bryant, Julie Klas and Scott Nostaja. Photo: ARTHUR PAGE
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“We should be extraordinarily proud of what we can do with the campus, especially this year with the economy.”
The volunteers behind the 2009 Employees Campaign for the Community Wednesday celebrated the success of this year’s drive with the good news that it has surpassed its $875,000 goal.
Campaign chair Scott D. Nostaja announced that as of 3 p.m. Wednesday, the campaign had raised $876,203.
Nostaja, vice president for human resources and chief of staff in the Office of the President, also announced that he has signed on for a second year as campaign chair and that next year, “I think we can go for $1 million.”
Noting that campaign returns initially were slow coming in, he called this year’s success both “remarkable” and “unbelievable,” and praised the campaign’s steering committee and nearly 200 liaisons at the unit level for their dedication.
“We should be extraordinarily proud of what we can do with the campus, especially this year with the economy,” Nostaja added.
Also joining in the celebration was President John B. Simpson, who noted that each year since he’s been at UB, the employees campaign “keeps getting better and better.”
“I’m in admiration of the work you’ve done and what we’ve been able to accomplish,” Simpson added. He noted that “the remarkable generosity of this campus community adds to the luster of what already is an exceptional university.”
Simpson also applauded the effort to conduct a “greener” campaign, which used significantly less printed materials than in the past and moved from paper to electronic communications for kickoff and celebration invitations and communications among campaign leaders.
Michael Weiner, president and CEO of the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County, praised UB for raising more money annually in its employee campaign than any employer in Erie County. “You make all the difference in the world,” Weiner said.
The difference made by individuals and units in conjunction with this year’s campaign was recognized with awards to top achievers.
The campaign’s gold award was presented to the Office of the Chief Information Officer for being the most successful unit in the campaign in terms of percentage of goal over last year, increase in total dollars raised and increase in number of gifts.
Based on the same criteria, the silver award was presented to the School of Social Work and the bronze award was given to the Division of Human Resources.
The Bennett Cup, described as the “MVP award for the campaign,” was awarded to the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, which has raised $138,000 to date, the highest dollar amount for a school and $7,000 over its goal.
The Chair’s Cup was presented to the School of Management, which raised 112 percent of its goal, including a $4,600 increase over last year with the same number of contributors.
Individual achievement was recognized with the William R. Greiner Award being presented to long-time campaign leader Ruth Bryant, who recently retired as an assistant dean in the School of Architecture and Planning.
Julie Klas of the Office of the President staff was recognized as Volunteer of the Year. Involved with the campaign for many years, Klas this year was co-chair of the Day of Caring committee and a key organizer of Wednesday’s celebration event.
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