One of the good things about not sleeping much is you get ample time to think…and usually that’s a good thing. The other night I was watching one of the “Save The Children” ads on TV and remembered when we had donated to a charity a few years ago and got in the mail a note from a child we had assisted. That personal touch went such a long way to making us feel like we made a difference.
It would be interesting, given the issues that circulate in college today, if colleges and universities took that approach when asking for donations, especially in athletics. Now there are probably many, many institutions that use players, coaches and administrators to call on high level donors. But what if a University had an athlete…any athlete or coach…target five donors with a letter, not a call, not a mass email not a spam phone message…and thanked them for their dollars to the University. It would be an amazing brand awareness campaign to show people who are questioning the value of athletics these days where their dollars are going and what stories these student-athletes and coaches actually have, and the personal connection…from the star quarterback to the swimmer to the student basketball manager…is one that could last a lifetime. It certainly isn’t an original idea, politicians do it all the time, but it puts much more of a personal touch back into what has become a big time business that it would be refreshing.
Anyone who has gone to a college, prep school or university is solicited in many ways throughout the year, and most of the time it is in the most cost-efficient way…mass emails, volunteer calls, form letters and updates. That’s understandable. However in this rush to raise, lots and lots of personal touches have been lost, and getting the buy-in from everyone affected by a donation with that little extra note would go a long way. For major institutions maybe there is no need or there are too many donors to make it realistic. Maybe it’s not just the athletes and coaches who send the notes, maybe five come from a media voice of the school…a prominent or respected radio voice, maybe even an alum…but those personal thanks and little notes would give any school just a little more connection to those who follow and believe passionately in all aspects of the school.
Yes it is more work for an overworked and short staffed development or athletic office. Maybe some people would joke about getting a note from a member of the crew team while someone else gets the starting center or the Hall of Fame coach. but that connection, no matter how small, tells a story and provides a conversation piece that may make someone talk to another person about giving, or may tie that donor even closer to the school than before. The downside and the time taken could go a long, long way in good will, especially in challenging times for so many schools these days.
If it works for “Save The Children,” why can’t it work for alma mater. And on we go…
