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FEATURES
fit for BSC. We must continue this
momentum next year … and the
next and the next.
On the fiscal front, our financial
situation continues to improve, but
we still have a long way to go. I
have said many times that it took
seven years to get us in this position,
and it will take more than one year
to get us out. We have, however,
made progress. Our debt has been
restructured to positively impact
our annual costs, we implemented a
goals-based and participatory budget
process that will allow us to balance
our budget annually … a big deal
in our journey to financial recovery
…
and we are relying less and less
on the endowment. We also have
restored faculty and staff salaries to
their original levels.
A key ingredient to achieving
financial stability is our ability to
raise funds—particularly annual
gifts from alumni. We set some
very ambitious and unprecedented
goals this year, and all I can say is
“
Thank you” because we did it! We
were victorious! When our fiscal
year ended May 31, we totaled nearly
$2.1 million in gifts from alumni
and friends for the Annual Fund.
Not only is this a record, it is a 91
percent increase over the previous
best year ever. In addition, in just
two weeks’ time in May we not only
matched the $100,000 challenge
from a remarkable alumni couple,
we raised $275,000 towards that
match! Very importantly, our
alumni giving percentage rose from
28
percent to 34 percent. Overall,
we raised $12.5 million for our
college, another record. I cannot
tell you how big a deal this is. We
asked, and you responded. And
did we ever ask … over and over
and over all year long! But that
is how important it was for us to
meet our goals this year. It was
huge … and it is crucial that we
maintain this momentum in our
fundraising going forward. Our
alumni giving percentage, while up
seven percentage points, remains
well below the 50 percent we
must reach annually. Many large
