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| December 2006
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CAMPUS NEWS |
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With the new year nearly upon us, AU has only a few months left to accomplish its alumni participation and fund-raising goals. For those who itemize their taxes, only a few weeks remain – ‘til Dec. 31 – to get in your end-of-year charitable donations in order for them to count for 2006. Many alumni may soon receive a letter from fellow alum and Interim President Neil Kerwin, SPA/BA '71, describing AU's latest accomplishments and asking for support to continue AU's path of excellence. More than 50 student callers are working evenings and weekends from phone banks in Anderson Hall to reach alumni, parents, and friends across the country to ask for those year-end gifts. “Our top caller, political science and history double-major major, Craig Nadeau '08, has raised more than $19,000 this year, and the rest of our staff is also setting record numbers” says Katie McIlhenny, SOC/BA ’05, SOC/MA ’06, assistant director of Phonathon Operations. To date, nearly 5,300 alumni have made a gift to their favorite areas of campus since May when AU's fiscal year began, but McIlhenny points out AU’s goal this year is more than double that. There’s no need to wait for a letter or an AU student caller to reach you at home, though. Alumni can give online any time, in any amount they want, to a whole variety of different areas across campus, whether it’s their school or college, the library, athletics, the arts, or the AU Fund for Excellence. Many people don’t know they can have their contribution matched, doubled, or even tripled by their employer. Check with your HR department about matching gift programs or visit http://www.matchinggifts.com/au. As of November 30, 2006, alumni have donated more than $5.6 million to the university for fiscal year 2007. Last year, alumni donated a record high of more than $10 million. Gifts of all sizes to all funds are counted toward the AnewAU campaign, which was launched three years ago to raise $200 million for a variety of university priorities, including construction of the Katzen Arts Center and remodeling the old Experimental Theatre into new classroom space for Kogod; erecting a new SIS building and transforming the McKinley Building into the new home for SOC; campus life initiatives, athletics, WAMU, academic enhancements, increasing scholarship funds, and strengthening the endowment. As of Nov. 30, 2006, more than $126.7 million has been raised toward the capital campaign. Alumni Board VP Erin M. Fuller, SPA/BA ’93, SPA/MPA ’94 says, “I’d also really like to see more alumni donate to the university. I don’t think people appreciate that’s a real measure of the university’s success. Even if it’s only $10 or $50, that helps grow the endowment and our stature.” Although the tax and calendar year end now, AU recognizes donors and measures our goals by the fiscal year, which ends April 30, 2007. To take part in advancing AU’s future, make a gift today at: http://giving.american.edu -Melissa Reichley
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Holiday
Gift-Giving 101: Include AU and Get a Tax Deduction, Too!