EMPLOYEE GIVING PROGRAMS TACCF Annual Conference 2012 Renaissance Austin Hotel – Arboretum Mary Nicholson Vice President of Institutional Advancement/Executive Director of Foundation Trinity Valley Community College Athens, Texas

Employee Giving at TVCC What I found……  Foundation began in 1974  First formal internal/external campaign was in 2004  Employees lacked knowledge of Foundation  Most gave in response to events, small contributions made periodically  Only 29% of employees donated to Foundation in 2009

Employee Giving at TVCC (cont’d)  New President hired Spring 2008  New Executive Director hired Fall 2009  Lack of confidence in Foundation finances  No coordination with Financial Aid  What was mission of Foundation?

Issues to Consider  History of employee giving?  How to attack issues with my Campaign Design  Relationship responsibility: How could I provide a personal touch?  Fear of what results might be

Campaign Design  Do I wait to begin an Internal Campaign? What was Administrative commitment? Did I understand the vision? Foundation Board support Support from Board of Trustees All needed to increase participation from Faculty/Staff

Campaign Design (cont’d)  Team Approach Start with why – I was new, could not do it alone! Who - were Informal Leaders on each Campus? What – help could I enlist from them? When – should I initiate the campaign. I just started with College, was it too soon? Where – can I use their help with 5 campus locations?

Relationship Responsibility  Whose responsibility is it?  Everyone needs to understand role of Foundation  Everyone Has A Role –  Team Captains each assigned 15 persons, cross section of campus  Recruited and trained to be the front line in campaign effort  They became “fundraisers”

Relationship Responsibility (cont’d)  What was my responsibility?  Recruit, train and orient Team Captains  Set example  Give first!  To provide the message  Success stories  Grow relationships and say “Thank You!”  Report back and be accountable

Incentives  Each year I design a new campaign mug that is given for a minimum donation of $25.00  Mug design will highlight special event from year  mug will celebrate opening of Cardinal Hall and our Cardinal Football team participation in the Citizens Bank Bowl in Pittsburg, KS  “Thank you” gift for Team Captains  Team Captain Campaign wrap up breakfast

Results  Increased awareness of the Foundation  TVCC employee giving increased from 29% to 69% in 2009  From 69% to 74% in 2010  From 74% to 87% in 2011  Our payroll contributions alone now exceed $5, per month which might not sound like much however it is a strong base to rely on each month

Contact Information    LinkedIn  Mary P. Nicholson  Phone 

Questions?  Thank you!