Campaign Committee and Role of Volunteers

Campaign Cornerstones has a 40-person national board that meets twice yearly as a group, led by co-chairs John and Doris Norton (John founded the JR Norton Company; both Nortons are UA alumni) in partnership with Dr. Shim and a team of key personnel from the Norton School . John Norton is on the UAF board and has experience in the $1B Campaign Arizona . The other Campaign Cornerstone Executive Committee members include leaders the business community (such Terry Lundgren, chief executive of Federated Department Stores) as well as prominent and dedicated alumni such as Tammy Underwood (class of 1965). Tammy Underwood served on the Campaign Arizona Presidential Leadership Team as an advisor to Campaign Arizona and has been a leading volunteer for several UA unit capital campaigns. (The Campaign Cornerstones Executive Committee list is at attachment A.) Individuals on the committee often meet informally when planning events and working on solicitations.

The role of the committee members is to open doors to other potential donors including soliciting them for funds, hosting luncheons and receptions, and advocating the school's projects to others. Committee members are succeeding admirably. For example, John Norton has helped to secure major naming gifts (McClelland and Lakin contributions) and has hosted several luncheons with prospective donors. He and Norman McClelland are planning to visit another major donor in Phoenix . Though not on the committee, campaign volunteer and CEO of Take Charge America Mike Hall has met with several bankers from companies like Wells Fargo and Citibank to discuss the campaign. In fact, building on his efforts, Dr. Shim will meet with Wells Fargo later this summer to request a gift of $10-25K.

Volunteer work is well publicized. Volunteers are invited to recognition events and thanked from the podium by name and their work is mentioned on the campaign website and in publicity materials. Annual service awards (5-10 per year) honor volunteers at Homecoming. Efforts are recognized in other ways, too. For example, the Family and Consumer Sciences Council caters alumni events on a volunteer basis. To recognize council members for the contribution, Dr. Shim makes a contribution to the council's scholarship fund.

The campaign has had the deliberate strategy of asking donors to become ambassadors. Of the school's top 200 donors, approximately 160 (80%) have contributed significantly toward opening doors or have solicited gifts. For example, PETsMART's President and Chief Operating Officer Bob Moran opened the door to reach Gateway, going so far as to fly Dr. Shim and her team in his private jet, raising $500K for the campaign and program. Contacts at Gateway, in turn, approached contacts at a partner company, Microsoft, leading to the gift of 20 tablet computers for faculty use and opening a conversation about the building campaign. Terry Lundgren has been an outstanding volunteer, recruiting new members to the Lundgren Center for Retailing Corporate Advisory Board and encouraging others to donate to the building.

Training is provided to volunteers informally. Executive Committee meetings have featured fund raising specialists from the UAF as speakers. Dr. Shim gives motivational and strategy talks. Norton School staff members (two program coordinators) have attended fund raising training programs. And before soliciting major donors, extensive strategy sessions are held among those involved.

Volunteers both on and off the executive committee also play critical roles in the campaign. For instance, Charlotte Harrison is chairing the Ruth Hall Legacy Room project and Janet Lang is leading the Jim Hine Legacy Room project. Alumni committee volunteers have helped to secure mid-sized gifts to name a number of facilities in the building, such as the room named by a mother-daughter alumnae pair and the Student Services Center named by a group of sorority sisters.

Student groups (Family Studies and Human Development Ambassadors, Retailing and Consumer Sciences Ambassadors, and Students in Free Enterprise) make numerous presentations to donors, and donors are extremely interested in and excited about students' activities. The Family and Consumer Sciences Alumni Council members prepare food for alumni receptions and homecoming events. Also, all living Legacy Leaders (former professors and school leaders like Amy Jean Knorr, Doris Manning, Jim Hine, and Shirley Jo Taylor, some of whom are on the executive committee) raise funds themselves, so they are not only being honored through the legacy campaign but have been inspired to serve as campaign volunteers.