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The Office of Annual Giving

Spring 2016, Issue 1

Inside this Issue:

-

Office of Annual
Giving Reaches
Gold

From an Eagle to
a Duke

Dukes Seek
Treasure

Office of Annual Giving Reaches Gold

Harrisonburg, Va. April 28,
2016. James Madison Universitys
Office of Annual Giving has made
record-breaking results for the first
Giving Day, has brought awareness
and education to the JMU student body
about giving with the I Heart JMU
week campaign, and has emphasized
the importance of giving back to JMU.
March 15, 2016 will be long
remembered for the wonderful
outpouring of support from alumni,
students, parents, faculty, staff and
Dukes from all around the globe. There
were 2,840 gifts, totaling nearly
$339,000 in one day. Out of the 2,840
gifts, 901 of them were first-time JMU
donors. The overwhelming response to
JMUs first Giving Day demonstrated
how strongly everyone in the JMU
community values their Madison
Experiences.

The learning relationships forged on

this campus are life changing, was
something that President Jonathan
Alger heard time and time again during
his Why Madison? Presidential
Listening Tour in 2013. Following that
input, the Madison Plan was created,
ensuring that JMUs culture of student
focus and engagement would be
preserved and enhanced. After
President Alger took The Madison
Plan back out on the road during his
Vision Tour, the greater Madison
community responded by breaking the
record of giving to the university.
April 12, 2016 was the start of a week
that brought awareness and education
to the JMU student body about giving
with the I Heart JMU week campaign.
This was the first time a series of
events focused on philanthropy has
been hosted on campus and the Office

JMUs current situation can be boiled down

into one sentence: State assistance is
dwindling, tuition continues to rise and
private external support is below par.

of Annual Giving and Student Alumni

Association is hoping to make a
tradition of I Heart JMU Week.

The Office of Annual Giving and the

Student Alumni Association hosted
trivia night on Tuesday, Why Pie
Wednesday on Wednesday, and Tanks
for Thanks on Thursday. They
particularly found success during our
Tank for Thanks event. They asked
students that in exchange for writing a
Thank You card to a JMU staff or
faculty donor they would receive a free
I Heart JMU tank top.
Continued on page 2

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Lorem Ipsum

Office of Annual Giving Reaches

Gold (cont.)
Over the period of three hours the Office
of Annual Giving and the Student Alumni
Association received over 125 donations
from students and hundreds of thank you
cards! It was an exciting time to talk with
students about the nearly 2,200 funds at
JMU and how the students can support
whichever cause they are passionate
about.
Annual donations from alumni, parents,
employees, students, and friends are the
backbone of giving at the university.
Annual donations ranging from $1 to
$24,999 per year enhance JMU's studentcentric environment. With yearly
contributions, donors help provide a
critical and consistent stream of support
for James Madison University.
The gifts made to James Madison
University support the professors and
students engaged at the heart of the
learning enterprise. Gifts toward
scholarships, faculty support, programs
and facilities allow professors and
students to engage with ideas and achieve
and innovate in ways that also engage
with the world. These opportunities help
JMU address the societal challenges of
today and further JMUs vision to become
the national model of the engaged
university.
The Office of Annual Giving consistently
updates donors about the progress of the
university as well as encourages them to
attend donor events. Donors may see how
their gift to JMU will truly have a lasting
impact. Together, donors will enhance
JMUs vision.

As of December 31,
2013, the endowment
stood at $74 million.
Plans are to increase
the endowment
dramatically over the
coming years.

From An Eagle to a Duke

Harrisonburg, Va. April
2016. It is 6:30 p.m. on a Tuesday.
The call center at the University of
Mary Washington (UMW) is filled
with undergraduate student employees
that are calling alumni, faculty, staff,
parents, and friends of the university.
Student managers walk around,
monitor calls, and approve pledges,
and they always can hear one distinct
voice that is bubbly and enthusiastic.
Gretchen Armentrout is that caller
with the bubbly and enthusiastic
voice. She is a second-year
Economics major at UMW and loves
to work as a caller for the Phonathon
Center. Armentrouts passion and
pride for the university motivates her
everyday to have constructive and
informative conversations with the
different audiences that she calls.

Callers at the Phonathon Center reach

out to numerous target audiences to
build relationships, reminisce, connect

about UMW, update audiences about

the university, and ask for their
support of higher education at Mary
Washington. Callers speak about the
different initiatives that the university
has that relate to the specific audience.
The calling process involves taking
into account the prospective donors
major and other involvements that
they have at the university.

Armentrouts job as a caller is where

she discovered an appreciation for
philanthropy. This inspired her to take
Economics of the Nonprofit Sector
course, in which she led a grant
selection process, and her experience
in this course then led to two
internships in the nonprofit sector.
Internships in the nonprofit sector
helped Armentrout understand and
appreciate philanthropy for something
more than what she was taught as a
child, which was just to give to the
church. Armentrouts nonprofit
course, internships, and appreciation
for philanthropy were contributing
factors that helped her make her
decision to stay in the field.

Continued on page 3

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From An Eagle to a Duke

(cont.)
As Armentrout pursued her
undergraduate degree, she continued
working as a caller for fundraising for
UMW. Due to statistics, which
defined her as an outstanding caller,
including her having raised over
$85,000 for UMW, and her ambitious
personality generated an offer for the
position of assistant director of
Annual Giving at UMW. Her role
entailed overseeing the design, plan,
and development of the Annual Fund
marketing materials. Her job further
included managing all aspects of
Phonathon callers at UMW.
Amid all her tasks, her positive
attitude never faltered, one of her
employees, Julianne Sweat, from her
time at Phonathon, went as so far to
say, She is extremely organized,

open for communication, and a strong

leader. Armentrout is very passionate
about her position with Annual Giving
at UMW and commits to success for
the organization while also creating an
opportunity for students to learn, grow,
and get real-world experience.
Three years into her position at Mary
Washington Armentrout got engaged to
her college sweetheart. After she had
moved in with him, she decided that
the commute to UMW everyday was
too far. Armentrout had begun to look
at jobs elsewhere that would be closer
to where her fianc and she were
building their dream house in
Harrisonburg, Virginia. She acquired
the position as the assistant director of
Annual Giving at James Madison
University.
Armentrouts position is very similar to
her UMW position, but now she is a

The Dukes Seek Treasure

Harrisonburg, Va. February 19, 2016. JMU faculty, staff,
students, parents, alumni and friends are coming together March 15 to host
the universitys first Giving Day with the help of volunteers across
campus. Volunteers will combine donors on and off-campus with the
incentive to focus on the long-term vitality of James Madison University.
In the 24-hour span of Giving Day, the Office of Annual Giving has a goal
of 568 donors. Volunteers from JMU organizations like clubs, Greek life,
and student employees will post on their personal and organizations social
media accounts using the JMU Giving Day hashtag, will change their cover
photos to a JMU Giving Day photo, and will send emails to alumni and
parents on Giving Day. Volunteers are encouraged to participate in oncampus Giving Day activities and to consider making a gift.
Continued on page 4

Madison Connection Employees on Giving Day

(cont.)
fellow Duke. Her responsibilities include
overseeing all the meetings, plans, and
calling for Madison Connection callers
and managers at the JMU Phonathon
Center. She also manages the online
giving and the GIVE webpage along with
serving as a project manager for
marketing solicitations and assisting with
donor tasks.
Armentrouts drive was evident when she
took it upon herself to create the first
Giving Day campaign with a goal of
reaching 568 donors. The work leading up
to this event involved intense
collaboration with all academic colleges
and office of Annual Giving employees,
consistent communication and marketing
of the event with alumni, friends, family,
staff, and faculty of the university, and a
vision of higher education for JMU.
Giving Day was a huge success with
2,480 donors and over $339,000 donated.
The event would not have been possible
without Armentrouts dedication and
perseverance. She expressed her
gratefulness for her current boss, whom
she also says is her inspiration. More
specifically, Armentrout thanks her for
teaching her so much and having amazing
leadership style, a vision with infinite
potential, and a great understanding of the
Office of Annual Givings purpose.
Armentrout stated, I love being a part of
something bigger that benefits many
people. Higher education, in particular, is
awesome because it will lead to the
successful future of all students we serve.
The results of Giving Day demonstrated
just this to Armentrout.
Armentrout will continue her work at
JMU for years to come. More importantly,
she will continue to offer her expertise to
the JMU community and the everevolving Madison Experience.

The Office of Annual Giving

Spring 2016, issue 1

The Dukes Seek Treasure (cont.)

Donors can support the advancement of JMU by contributing to their favorite
academic program or donating to one of the five priority funds, which are, the
Madison-Vision Fund, The Madison Forever- Scholarship Fund, the Athletic Fund,
the Madison Endowment, or the Faculty Success Fund.
Each priority fund is concentrated on the different needs and desires of the
university. The Vision Fund is for higher education at JMU, the Scholarship Fund is
an emergency fund to support students that run into financial crises, the Athletic
Fund is to support student-athletes needs and the athletic budget, the Madison
Endowment is an ongoing support fund for JMU, and lastly, the Faculty Success
Fund supports the high-quality faculty at JMU.
Donors may make a gift and watch it grow in combination with hundreds of
others. Donors may see how their gift to JMU will truly have a lasting impact.
Together, JMU donors will enhance Madisons Treasure.

Meet the Office of Annual Giving

Director, Annual Giving
Kelly Snow

Office Manager, Annual Giving

Erin Meadows

Assistant Director, Direct Response Efforts

Annual Giving Coordinator

Gretchen Armentrout

Alicia Pettis

Assistant Director, Campus Philanthropy and

Special Programs
Ben Vucic