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December 6 , 2004
2004 EmoryGives campaign heads into final month

BY Eric Rangus

With one month to go before the end of the Fall 2004 EmoryGives campaign, $593,418 fills Emory’s corporate-giving coffers. That’s already more than the roughly $492,000 raised last year, but still more than $300,000 short of this year’s goal.

“We’re really pushing,” said Michelle Smith, associate vice president of development and university relations, adding that her goal was to raise $300,000 every month of the campaign, which began Oct. 1.

“There is going to be an all-out push by President [Jim] Wagner and everybody else to get people to ante up,” Smith said.

While there is still a long way to go to reach its goal, Emory-Gives already has accomplished a great deal. More than $286,000 was raised through a partnership with the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk on Nov. 6. This year marked the first time funds had been pooled between the two entities.

On Nov. 14, $31,000 more was collected at the annual Parisian shopping spree to benefit the program. More than 500 tickets were sold and attendees not only got to shop after hours—the store was open only to Emory community ticket holders—but they got to rub elbows with special guests such as European Union Comm-issioner Frits Bolkestein, who was in town for Emory’s International Education Week.

Smith said that the turnout was so strong that the Phipps Plaza store, where the shopping spree was held, was the chain’s most successful in terms of sales on that day.

Faculty and staff can donate to EmoryGives anytime, but in order for funds to be counted in the current campaign, pledges must be received by Dec. 31. Donations can be made securely online through the EmoryGives website at www.emorygives. emory.edu, or donation forms can be printed out at http://www.emorygives.emory.edu/donating.htm.

This is the first year EmoryGives has offered online donation, and while that has made the giving process easy for some, Smith said she is concerned that a segment of the Emory population that wants to donate might have been better served with traditional paper forms.

“We’ve had a great response online, but there is still a large chunk of people who would been given if they had gotten something in the mail,” Smith said. This year, no mailing was sent out, and the campaign opened with a campuswide e-mail from Wagner. Smith reiterated that giving online or by paper form is equally easy.

Donations can be made by personal check, credit card, payroll deduction or gift of stock. Six charitable partners participate in the EmoryGives campaign: Community Health Charities of Georgia, Earth Share of Georgia, Georgia Black United Fund, Georgia Shares, Global Impact and the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta. Donations can be targeted to the partner and member agency of one’s choice.

For more information or to request a paper form, contact the EmoryGives office at 404-727-2020.

 

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