Imagine Tomorrow Campaign Recognized for Overall Performance

Ripon College has received a 2014 Educational Fundraising Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) in recognition of overall performance in fundraising among private liberal arts institutions with endowments under $100 million.

Thanks to generous support from alumni and friends, Imagine Tomorrow, Ripon College’s five-year comprehensive campaign that launched in spring 2010, achieved its initial goal of $50 million in January 2014, 18 months ahead of schedule. The college’s endowment as of December 31 was at $80.2 million, an all-time high.

Already, the college has embarked on several initiatives to benefit students and create better opportunities in the classroom and beyond:

Forty-two new endowed funds have been established, or are in the process of being established, since the beginning of the Imagine Tomorrow campaign, including: 30 endowed scholarships; nine other endowed funds to support student research and special programs like the Career Discovery Tour; and three new faculty chairs — Robert Amsden, professor of theatre, is the Doreen L. ’73 and David I. Chemerow Chair in Theatre; David W. Scott, assistant professor of religion, is the Pieper Chair of Servant Leadership; and Colleen Byron, professor of chemistry, is the L. Leone Oyster Chair in Chemistry. A fourth endowed faculty position will be announced soon.

“This award really is a tribute to the generosity and affection Ripon College alumni and friends feel towards this great institution,” says Wayne Webster, vice president for advancement.

The annual Educational Fundraising Awards program honors exemplary development operations at CASE-member institutions for overall performance and overall improvement in fundraising. A total of 1,010 higher education institutions participated in the VSE survey in 2014. An independent data analyst narrowed the field to 450 institutions. A total of 149 independent schools participated in the VSE survey. An independent data analyst narrowed the field to 64 institutions. Out of 64 independent schools considered, 20 institutions won an award.

Ripon College was selected to receive an Overall Performance Award based on judges’ blind analysis of three years of fundraising data supplied to the Council for Aid to Education’s annual Voluntary Support of Education Survey (VSE).

Despite achieving its goal early, Ripon has decided to keep to its original timeline for Imagine Tomorrow with an ending date of July 2015. For the remaining months of the campaign, the college will set out to reach an extended goal of $60 million.

“By increasing our goal, we keep the momentum going for a better future,” Webster says. “Throughout this campaign, we realized we have greater potential and needs. We have many alumni and friends whom we have yet to involve in this process, and Imagine Tomorrow creates a unique engagement opportunity.”

To make a gift to Ripon College today, click here.

Posted June 17, 2014 in Imagine Tomorrow.

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