Report from Director for Alumni and College Relations

Spring 2010

Alumni Relations

The Alumni Relations Department strives to work in concert with the college in fulfilling our mission, purpose, and ministry. This is partially achieved through dedicated service to our alumni, student body, and friends of the college. We solicit partners to join us in prayer, volunteerism, and financial contributions through various means, such as electronic communication (e-Newsletters and emails), involvement in campus activities (Homecoming, Campus Preview, Campus Clean-up Day, etc.), and personal contact.

We recognize the same challenges the college in proper recognizes with a declining economic climate. Donations and volunteers are more challenging to obtain because of lost jobs, cuts in pay, and a general loss of family income to those who have supported us for years. This verse in Galatians is a vivid reminder from Paul who faced more difficult obstacles than most of us will ever face, that we should keep our focus on Christ, stay true to our mission and why we are called to serve at this point in time, and not grow discouraged as we press on.

Alumni financial contributions for the first three quarters of the 2009–2010 fiscal year to date, compared with previous years are demonstrated in the following graph.

The above chart reflects a 27% increase in alumni receipts from the previous fiscal year and an average 13.5% increase since 2005-2006. Further, there was a 32.6% alumni-to-college participation for this current fiscal year period.

The following chart shows a 27.9% decrease from the previous fiscal year in total college unrestricted giving. Since 2006 there has been an average 2.2% increase in total college receipts.

Alumni fund-raising initiatives are as follows:

• The Alumni Sustaining Scholarship Fund. This has been our primary focus since 2007 and will remain such until 2011. Our pledge to the college was that we would raise $50,000 annually or $250,000 during this five-year Centennial Campaign period. To date, we have actually raised $678,035.18 since the 2007-2008 fiscal year in Unrestricted Gift Income. We will continue our efforts through intentional letters of solicitation and personal contact. A special alumni e-letter was mailed February 25 to over 3,800 alumni, soliciting prayer for the school, help with recruiting efforts, and funds for general unrestricted and alumni scholarships. Within a week, $5,700 was donated online in response to the appeal. I praise the Lord for that. It is my prayer that He will continue to bless our efforts.
• The Outdoor Environmental Education Center has been a primary restricted fund-raising project since 2003. Initially, our goal was $140,000. To date, over 530 gifts totaling over $232,768 has come in from alumni, members and friends of the Leon & Rachel Gathany family, local community members, and foundations. One of our strategies included submitting a grant for $10,000 to help furnish and equip the facility.

  I sent a proposal to the Hart County EMC at their request, outlining our equipment needs to provide a “smart classroom” for Toccoa Falls College and prospective elementary and high school students from various counties. Our request was denied.

• The 2009-2010 alumni project is to raise $20,000 toward the new Gate Cottage Patio. That was scheduled to launch in February; however, other concerns were more pressing. A solicitation letter will go out by May 1. The amount raised will be announced during Homecoming in October.

Equally important to raising financial support is strengthening ties between the college and alumni. This is accomplished in a variety of ways for several different purposes.

• Monthly e-Newsletters are sent to inform our alumni of pertinent college activities, or ways in which they can stay connected with the campus and other alumni, or ways in which they can participate in personal estate planning to benefit their families and TFC.

  Since we launched the e-Newsletter a year ago May, we have received countless letters from alumni whom we have not heard from in many years. To have them reconnected with their alma mater and former classmates, and displaying a genuine interest in what is going on here, makes our efforts completely worthwhile. To date, we have mailed over 146,370 e-Newsletters, e-postcards, and e-notices to our alumni.

• The alumni website averages over 18,300 visits each month from over 100 different countries from alumni and friends. This has proven to be a very successful tool of communication with our alumni who submit updated articles of their ministry, changes in their family or occupation, etc.
• An important component of the website and e-Newsletter is the opportunity to provide networking opportunities for our recent graduates. Many alumni have volunteered to be involved with this program to help new alumni find their way in particular occupations. A specific section on the website is dedicated for the exchange of information. Occasionally, we refer alumni to our campus career counseling team, and this has worked very well.
• Two other social media we take advantage of for effectively communicating with alumni and friends are Facebook and Twitter. Younger alumni are especially plugged into those venues; however, I have been impressed (and encouraged) to see older alumni (my age) participating.
• For several months we have been participating in an insurance affinity program with Meyer & Associates. The primary purpose is to partner with Liberty Mutual in providing affordable insurance coverage to our alumni and to receive a percentage of premiums for the alumni association. This is a no-cost program to the association or college, but provides competitive rates in home owners, auto, health, life, travel, and other insurance needs to our alumni. Perhaps one of the most valuable aspects of these offerings is a free $5,000 life insurance policy to every new graduate for one year. This allows them time to transition into something more permanent immediately upon graduating and not being under their parent’s policy. Needless to say, this has been very well received by our seniors.

Aside from my alumni relations responsibilities, I chair the Beautification Committee and sit on two other committees—the Planning & Evaluating Committee and the Marketing & Branding Committee. The first Saturday in March the Beautification Committee organized and held the third annual Campus Clean-Up Day in which approximately 75 faculty, staff, students, and alumni gathered to beautify the campus and get it ready for Campus Preview. It was great to have our board president and her husband work with us that day. We work in concert with the Maintenance Department to provide assistance in picking up debris from the winter months, and making it easier for them to plan, prune, spread mulch, and take care of all other outdoor projects they have. For the past three years we have dubbed this "Hug the Tree God Planted Day." SGA is very involved in getting the student body to participate. At the conclusion of our workday, we provide a barbecue for all the workers on Earl Lawn. The students get excited working next to our president or one of their professors on a joint outdoor project—it will become an experience they won’t forget.

The Planning & Evaluating Committee reviews departmental goals, strategies, and results. We work in conjunction with guidelines established by SACS, our accreditation body.

The Marketing Committee has worked on a new branding "slogan" for the college. You will start to see this in publications: Authentic Community. Passionate Faith. Globally Engaged.

Work on Homecoming 2010 is underway. Our theme is Reflections. The lion’s share of the planning will happen between now and the end of May.

My working with alumni across the nation and globe is not only enjoyable but is a tremendous blessing. As they relate their experiences as to how God is providing in unique ways and circumstances, how He is using them to build His kingdom, and how He has used Toccoa Falls College to prepare them for their life’s work, fuels my passion for TFC. I will continue to work diligently to increase communication and to strengthen relationships among our alumni. The Lord has blessed our efforts in those areas, and we will trust Him to open additional doors and avenues of communication.

I am sincerely appreciative of the work you, our alumni board, are doing to further our mission. You are supportive, prayerfully committed, and I appreciate your loyalty to the association and your alma mater. Thank you for all you do!

Respectfully Submitted,

Sharon Sanderson (1971)
Director for Alumni and College Relations