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Campaign nears goal, despite challenges
Individuals who worked on the 2010 Employees Campaign for the Community gathered in the Center for Tomorrow on Tuesday to celebrate the success of the campaign, which despite the loss of 300 UB employees this year, has raised nearly 90 percent of its goal.
The campaign, which has a goal of $850,000, has raised $757,902.40 as of Dec. 21.
Campaign chair Scott Nostaja, senior vice president and chief operations officer, told unit liaisons and members of various campaign committees who attended the celebration that the retirement of 300 UB employees this year—most of whom “had grown up in an era of giving”—“would be a big loss to the university in terms of the campaign” and would challenge the remaining employees to “find new ways to dig deeper.”
Another challenge to the campaign, he said, was the transition to an online giving option. Even though the option was new this year, two-thirds of employees used the online system. Going “green” saved more than $4,000 in print costs and more than 128,000 pieces of paper, campaign officials said.
“In the years to come, the online giving option will prove to be everything we want it to be,” Nostaja said. “It will be part of the culture.”
The fact that UB raised $750,000 was “tremendous” he said, given the challenges the campaign faced with the 300 retirements and the transition to online giving, as well as continuing difficulties in the overall economy.
Completing his second year as campaign chair, Nostaja said he “continues to be amazed by the individuals who run this campaign all year round. They are to be commended for the good work they do.”
He also lauded campaign workers for “reaching deep into their own pockets to give to the campaign.”
President John B. Simpson also praised the committee chairs and unit liaisons, noting that even though UB lost several hundred senior employees, “the university picked up the slack; that’s very impressive.”
Simpson said he is proud that UB “has transformed from being an academic institution to being an academic community” that is part of the larger Western New York community. “This is best illustrated by our commitment to the community through the Employees Campaign for the Community. There is no single better test that this university is this community,” he said.
The highlight of Tuesday’s campaign celebration was the presentation of awards to the campaign’s top achievers.
The Gold Award was given to the School of Management, which was the first unit to reach its goal and only one of three units to reach its goal. The Silver Award went to the Office of the Chief Information Officer, which raised 91 percent of its goal and had a 64 percent response rate. Receiving the Bronze Award was University Support Services, which raised 67 percent of its goal and was one of only three units to increase its percent of unit goal.
The William R. Greiner Award, recognizing an individual who demonstrates the same level of commitment to the campaign as the late UB president, was given to Jessica Biegaj Wangelin, campaign coordinator and community relations associate for programming.
Dawn Reed was named Volunteer of the Year. Reed, director of external programs and development initiatives for the Division of Athletics, served as campaign kickoff chair and coordinated a free football ticket incentive for donors.
The Bennett Cup, dubbed the “MVP award for the campaign,” was awarded to the School of Social Work, one of three units to reach its campaign goal.
The Chair’s Cup—awarded each year at the discretion of the campaign chair to a unit that achieved some special distinction during its annual campaign—was presented to the Office of the Vice President for Health Sciences, which increased the number of gifts and the precent of contributors, and had the lowest non-respondent rate.
Receiving special recognition certificates were Dawn Starke, office manager for the assistant vice president for procurement services, for coordinating campaign fundraisers year-round in Crofts Hall; the Online Committee—Karen Grey, Paul Francavilla, Joe Syracuse, Lynn Sutton, Gary Pacer, Greg Howland and Jeff Murphy—for assisting in the campaign’s online transition; and University Print and Mail Services, for coordinating the folding and stuffing of online instructions for all employees.
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