A Kentucky College Hopes to Gain as Economy Improves

Compiled by Nicole Lewis and Elizabeth Schwinn

Richard Trollinger, vice president for college relations, Centre College (Danville, Ky.)

How do 2003 donations to date compare with 2002?

At present, the number of donors is up 22.6 percent and overall gifts are up nearly 50 percent, for a total of $1.7-million.

What’s the prognosis for end-of-year appeals?

While it remains to be

seen whether many of our donors are simply giving earlier than last year, I am very optimistic about the response our year-end gift appeals will receive.

Has the recent positive economic news had any impact on fund raising?

Yes. I believe that much of the success we have experienced in recent weeks is driven by positive economic news. Already this fiscal year, which began July 1, we have received 242 gifts from people who had not given in the past three years. We are very encouraged.

What fund-raising techniques do you expect to do best at the end of this year?

Personal solicitation calls always yield the best results for us, especially in terms of size of gift. This is followed by direct mail, our phonathon, and e-solicitations. We still have success with our annual-fund phonathon, which produces the most donors — if not dollars — for us. We had a very successful fall phonathon, with 68 percent of the people contacted making pledges.

What hasn’t worked well?

One of our greatest challenges is getting through to the people we wish to call during the phonathon. When we do get through, we are highly successful. But our donors, like people everywhere, have installed devices to protect them from telemarketers. Fortunately, we are seeing progressive growth in giving over the Internet. While our results are not as dramatic as Howard Dean’s, they are good, and the trend line is pointing upward.

What is the most important step you’ve taken to stimulate end-of-year giving?

In anticipation of and preparation for a capital campaign that we will publicly launch in 2004, we mailed to our constituents in late October a booklet that internally we refer to as the “vision piece.” Its purpose is to build shared values and shared vision prior to taking the campaign public. It appears to have struck a responsive chord. This publication, in combination with more-favorable economic news, has created a platform for the success of our year-end appeals.

What are your predictions for 2004?

Bear in mind that one of my frequent sayings is, “If I weren’t a naïve optimist, I would not be a fund raiser.”

Nonetheless, I am optimistic about charitable giving in 2004 — in terms of both overall giving and giving to Centre College in particular.

I believe that the economy will continue to respond favorably to the Bush administration’s efforts to stimulate performance and growth.

Moreover, I have found that Americans with greater discretionary income tend to be generous in their charitable giving.