My heartfelt thanks to the faculty and staff who chose to join in this year’s (603) Challenge. It was a challenging and sensitive time to be fundraising given the COVID19 crisis, the George Floyd killing, and the ensuing protests and events. I appreciate that everyone has their own philanthropic priorities and the many complicated issues facing us today also call out philanthropic support. So, for those of you who decided to include Paul College among your philanthropic choices, thank you.
For me, I gave and asked for support because I felt these funds were particularly important this year to enable us to sustain our key initiatives to enhance our students’ success. As we grapple with the impact of the virus and the resulting budget challenges we will face next year, the funds raised from The (603) Challenge and philanthropy more generally will be even more critical for us as we continue to pursue our mission and priorities.
In the end, 108 faculty and staff contributed almost $11,000 and with the matches from Peter and me, our community gave $22,000 towards the $143,000 raised in total for Paul College (and this does not yet include the matches from the underwriters!). Our broad participation also was critical in getting us to the goal of 450 donor required to unlock the $75,500 challenge gift from the Advisory Board.
I congratulate and thank the development team, and especially Suzanne and Sam, for their excellent planning, mobilization of support, and “can do” approach as we all worked hard to meet our ambitious donor goal. With their leadership, we did it and it will make a significant difference for us in the coming year!
Stay safe and take care, Deborah
