| In February I took my three grandsons to see Nemo on Ice, a spectacular Disney production brought to Boston by alumnus Ken Feld (SMG’70), CEO of Feld Entertainment. It’s a fabulous show, as Ken’s always are (they include the Ringling Bros./Barnum & Bailey Circus). I had seen the movie, but watching figure skaters transform themselves into fish, sharks, jellyfish, even a whale with a see-through stomach revealing those imprisoned inside—that was amazing! The audience, which with the exception of accompanying adults probably had an average age of ten, found themselves happily believing they were, alternately, on the floor of the ocean and inside the fish tank along with the temporarily captured Nemo. I came away thinking what wonderful magic was worked, and how exciting it was to experience the art of illusion. And I asked myself how I might transfer that magic to our fundraising activity at Boston University. I had a hard time coming up with an answer. The fundamental reason is that we cannot deal with illusion. We need real money to meet real needs—new buildings and renovations, new programs, and the strong scholarship support critical to make a BU education available to everyone who qualifies and to maintain our diversity. No illusions there.
I did have one thought: if those alumni who have not made a gift to their alma mater in, say, ten years were to pretend that they had, creating the illusion of an unbroken record of giving, then it would be highly likely they would continue that pattern by making a gift this year. Many of our alumni faithfully make a gift each year, realizing that the amount of the gift is important, but even more important is increasing the percentage of alumni annual giving. That is why we have launched the Annual Giving Leadership Gift Societies. They have already stimulated many alumni to come forward for the first time, and contributions are 28 percent higher than last year’s (see Growing Connections).
My appeal to you, then, is to join me in making this fantasy the real thing. If you are sending annual gifts, please continue to do so. If you are not, please create the illusion for yourself that you have been and continue the pattern this year. If enough of you do, we have a very good chance of having the most outstanding year of raising funds for Boston University in its history. I will report back on whether this idea catches on, or whether, like Dory, it is a bit misguided.
Have a great spring.
Cordially,
Christopher R. Reaske |
