At Spelman, I often hear complaints about the lack of financial aid given out to students, our meager resources, and our deficiency in technology. These problems are widely known and universally regarded as issues in our college community. However, there is much less passionate discourse on the importance of student and alumnae giving. Schools that have an abundance of resources acquire them because their alumni give back. If we were to increase not simply the amount of money Spelmanites give back to the school, but the percentage of us who donate, our school would better be able to address our aforementioned concerns.
I realize that Spelman women feel that they have already had to pay enough tuition to Spelman in the first place. Spelman is expensive. Students already have enough loans, and the recession is not making anything any easier. However, if every student gave just one dollar, potential donors would see that Spelman women value the educations that they are receiving. Our giving encourages outside organizations to give as well. Outside donors want to give to schools where graduates express confidence and gratitude to their institution themselves. We can’t convince people who have real money to use it to benefit Spelman if they see through the numbers that we as Spelmanites are making almost no effort whatsoever to uplift our own school.
Spelman has encouraged its students and graduates to give back through the “Every Woman, Every Year” campaign with some success. This program promoted annual giving as opposed donating only during reunion years. This initiative increased alumnae giving from 16% in 2006 to 28% in 2007 according to reports by the school. I am excited about these results, but they also make me wonder what is in the minds of the remaining 72% of alumnae. 72% of Spelmanites are not sufficiently grateful for the preparation Spelman gave them for their lives to remember to send in some funds. 72% of Spelmanites do not care enough about the Spelman legacy to want to ensure it for their children. 72% of Spelmanites do not appreciate their education enough to give just one dollar back.
Other schools have the ability to meet financial need and reward talented students with scholarships because their graduates give back. As much pride, love, and gratitude we as Spelman women have for our school, it saddens me that many of us do not donate. It is not the size of the donation that proves our love; it’s the existence of the donation in the first place. We should recognize that it is only through proper funding that we can ensure that the Spelman experience will be available for women of color for generations to come.
ALL STUDENTS, ALL THE TIME (RESPONSE)by Nia Newton
Chelsea makes a great point throughout her arguments, and although I would love to play devil’s advocate, I really cannot. I totally support her claim. Spelman College does receive a lot of complaints about the lack of funding that it has for its students. We cannot as a whole blame it on the school. This is private education; therefore we rely on the donations that people give to the school. So my response is not that women of Spelman should not give back, but how do we promote giving back. I believe that the “Every Woman, Every Year” campaign has done an outstanding job; however, it is not enough. I believe that it is the job of current students to start calling for some donations.
Do telemarketers get you upset? I know that I find them annoying, but I also know that when they call I listen for the reason why they have to call, then I hang up. Maybe as Spelman College Students we need to volunteer calling alumnae and asking for donations. We could set it up the same way that we set up the calling for Spel-Bound girls. It is the same idea, different audience. We need to work together to obtain funds for our fellow Spelman sisters.
Homecoming booths are another great idea towards raising funds. We all know that there is a large amount of alumnae coming in when its homecoming time. We need to start taking advantage of this. Instead of walking around aimlessly, we as Spelman College Students could rent out a booth just to raise donations for scholarships and funds for the school.
Although these are only ideas, ideas are the first step to taking initiative. We cannot just expect donations; we must earn the donations. Working hard always profits!
15 comments:
Chelsea, I completely agree. It has to start at home. Once we show confidence in our school by giving back this will persuade others to do likewise. Looking from a donor's standpoint, why should i donate if their own alum isn't? Sad to say but that's how people think. But you have to realize that this is a vicious cycle to break because now that i am struggling there is a chance that when i graduate i might think "hay i made it. and it was during a recession". But my love for Spelman conflicts with my horrible thinking. I hate to say it but if i had to decide to give to my high school or give back to Spelman, my high school is in the lead. But your argument was strong. You stated your thesis and you proved it with facts.
-Jasmine S
I'm glad you spoke about this issue. Last year during spelbound, i went to one of the events with my spelbounder. Dr. Tatum spoke on the financial issues and why it was an issue. First she talked about the demographic. We are African American women which means we are the ones who need financial assistance the most. About 80 percent of us are on financial aid. This is different for most schools or universities. Also our staff comprises of mostly professors with doctorate degrees. they get paid more because of their status. A lot of our tuition goes to them. I'm glad we have the best teachers, and do not mind at all. After hearing her talk about this, i understand why our tuition is so high. I do agree that we need more alumnae support to help us. That's the whole Spelman Sisterhood.
I feel that this commentary proves a very valid point. This claim of value really questions and shows why donating back to one's school is so important. Although Spelman does have an endowment from the Rockefeller Foundation they still need money for financial aid. It is important to give back no matter how much the amount because it will help some student in some way. From a personal standpoint I have always been taught to give back and ever since elementary school my parents and grandparents donate money to my current school every year. Once I have begun my career I plan to do the same for my children as well as my alma mater.
A.Calloway
I think you have a very well articulated argument. However, I disagree that 72% of Spelman graduates do not care enough about Spelman to give back. As you mentioned previously, we are in a recession. This would explain why annual giving may be minimal during this time period. Yet, before the recession were the figures the same? How do our alumni donations compare to the donations received from graduates of other colleges and universities? There are a lot of important facets to this argument that are missing. Also, not everyone who graduates from Spelman can afford to be a habitual donor to the college. Most alumni will spend years paying off student loans. Is it possible that the 28% of graduates that donate to Spelman are the ones who are no longer in debt because of their attendance at this institution? Additionally, the same alumni that do not give back to Spelman may indeed care enough about Spelman to send their daughter there. They may "give back" in the form of sending their daughters here and paying her tuition.
I think the most important issue here is not drawing definite conclusions because a large percentage of alumni are not donating, but to find out the reasoning why they are not donating. I would bet that the majority of women who graduate from Spelman do have a strong allegiance to this institution. I would venture that they may even be giving back in other ways. These women may not be personal donors but they may responsible for the enormous donations given by large corporate entities like Coca-Cola. Is a Spelmanite responsible for the 7.2 million dollar donation? Let's find out :-)
I agree with this post. You had some very insightful thoughts that I had never thought of. As a private school, we are able to have smaller classes and receive more one on one attention from students. However, consequently, as a private school we do not receive funding from the government. As a result, its the responsibility of the alumnae and students to give back. If every student was required to give one dollar every month the annual endowment would increase by almost 30 thousand dollars. We must implement the Spelman sisterhood in all that we do. Help our sisters out!
Ms. Johnson,
Your blog was well written. I found it interesting and also helpful to your argument when you stated that outside sources give money to colleges whose alum give back. I noticed you argument you gave a claim of value, which allowed you to give many of your opinions. I like how you did incorporate statistics to aid to your argument. It would have been helpful if you had perhaps stated where you received those statistics so it would not seem that you just created those statistics to aid to your argument. Also it would have been good if you had utilized voice of an expert perhaps you could have contacted alumna affairs and spoke with a graduate and gotten their opinion on the importance of giving back. You also had the option to contact perhaps the Dean or other officials that represent Spelman College to get their opinion about the matter at hand. Overall your argument was entertaining, and very inspirational to give back for a greater cause.
By: Raavin R Evans
I strongly agree with this commentary. This is something that is tremendously important right now at this institution. Being a Spelman student I can stronly relate to this plea because being a student of financial need, but not being elgible for any federal funds is a disappointment. On top o that, Spelman says that they're aren't enough funds to go around to those who hav a mild financial need. I agree that the solution to this problem is to recruit more of the alumni to give back in order to keep the legacy of Spelman turning. The question now remains, how do we get those successful alumni to give back to the school that ultimately made them who they are?
Good idea to have a booth set up at homecoming tailgate!! I agree that will bring in tons of money in just one day! Maybe we can propose that idea to our SGA...
-S. Mills
I agree with this argument and the delivery. It has become more and more evident that after the first semester many students can not come back to Spelman...Why? Because they simply do not nor have not been afforded the money to do so. In fact, they are even more girls who are unable to return after freshman year. So in response to the author's argument it is our duty as Spelman women, who see our fellow classmates leaving so abruptly, to lobby for donations from previous Spelmanites. We can not expect others to be willing to make large contributions to our school, if we do not contribute first. The future of Spelman lies in our hands. It is up to our generation to ensure that the legacy and these gates always remain open for any young African American woman who wishes to further her education at the best HBCU there is!
Chelsea's argument is well put together and supported. She makes, what I see to be, a claim of value. Although she included helpful statistics throughout her argument, most of her support comes in the form of motivational appeals. While majority of Spelman students believe that we should ALL give back to the school in some monetary fund that may not be the attitutde of every Spelman woman. I agree that there is no excuse to not give at least ONE DOLLAR a year to the school that prepared you to be a successful black woman BUT the fact still remains that that is only one perspective and because of that this argument will always be one of value. I also agree with Nia's idea that we should implement some type of call-a-thon to Spelman alumnae to gather more funds in that way.
Fundraising is an art. Chelsea has discussed the ways that the Office of Development has ramped up its efforts to solicit donations from alumna. The campaigns visibility through mail and web solicitation will result in more donations and a larger percentage of alumna giving.
I didn't begin giving to Spelman through the "Every Woman Every Year Campaign" until 2007 when I had been an alumna for 9 years. Ironically, I gave back to Georgia State, my other alma mater the first year after I graduated in 2001. I did not intentionally give to GSU over spelman. As it happened, GSU allows alumna access to the the university library when donors give $50. I still needed access to GSU's library. The holdings were essential to the materials I would use to teach, so I gave the money. This incident may point to what may be a difference between smaller colleges like Spelman and Research institutions like Georgia State, which may result in lost donations for Spelman. Immediately following graduation, Spelman women may be more encumbered with the everyday challenges of life, such as obtaining some financial security. Even if they are continuing their education, Spelman holdings/libraries may not offer them access to the research or artifact that they need in their respective disciplines. A third reason for a percentatge of alumna participation may be that graduates have many loyalties which extend beyond their alma mater. Those other loyalties: church, and other charities, may maintain a place of privilege above Spelman. Though Spelman challenged me academically, I was loyal to the church long before I had even heard of Spelman. When my funds are low, I don't stop giving to my church, but "Every Woman Every Year" becomes lower on my priority list.
I can definitely identify with your claim.The value of this argument is extensive, and your ethos, pathos and logos appeals made that clear.Using those appeals you have constructed a solid argument and you have displayed your understanding concerning the value of sisterhood.This is a well thought out piece and like the commentator stated, I would love to play the devils advocate but I just cannot. The recession should not even be of concern,according to your argument because one dollar would be enough to show that they care. I agree. I would love to see something done about this because we are, as stated, a private institution and the donations we receive are detrimental to our existence.
S. Betts
I agree with you both we do need to increase the amount of donations we give and we receive. I think we should increase the numbers of students giving not necessarily the amount they are giving. I was against annual giving as a student before I read these arguments but now I understand that as a proud Spelman women it is my responsibility to show the world how proud I am even if it means just giving a few dollars here and there so then others will become excited and proud about the education we are receiving.
BriElla Nelson
This was excellent point to bring up. The price of tuition is a topic that continuously comes up in many of my friends conversations. The price that we pay for our education compared to many of other schools differs in what ways, that we tend to pay 10-20 thousand more. But after reading your blog and the comments of some of the others, I now understand why our education is much more expensive than others. The education as well as the sisterhood and experience that we receive at Spelman is something that will and has not been experienced at any other institution. And I do agree that it is imperative for all the alumni to contribute back because they are helping their little sisters get through the financial burdens of school. As black women, we must help our own so that the idea of financing an Spelman education will not be a debate.
-Courtney Warren
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