Employee matching gift campaign launched

3:33 p.m., June 18, 2004--The University of Delaware has announced it will celebrate a sterling record of employee giving with an unprecedented matching gift campaign designed to enhance UD’s overall fund-raising effort, drawing special attention and, it is hoped, gifts to the new Center for the Arts project.

Through a first-time-ever, campus-wide Employee Challenge campaign, President David P. Roselle said, gifts made by employees and retirees in support of any University program or department will be matched on a one-to-one basis, and employee gifts in support of the Center for the Arts will be matched two-to-one, with matches to benefit the center—the University’s current highest priority project.

There are no limits on the dollar amount that will be matched. The matching funds, including donor-directed funds, come from those already earmarked for the Center for the Arts, and the matching program has as a primary goal fostering a sense of ownership for the center among all University employees and retirees, Roselle said.

The match covers both one-time gifts and those made through the campus payroll deduction program.

“University of Delaware employees have long felt a strong sense of connection to and pride in the institution, and that has been reflected by their remarkable level of giving, which is one of the highest in the country,” Roselle said. Employee giving at UD increased by almost 10 percent last year, with gifts received from more than 800 faculty and staff donors.

“This new matching gift program has a number of goals,” Roselle said. “Certainly, we want to thank employee donors for being financial supporters of the University. Accordingly, we will reward those employees who have given to any University of Delaware program by making a gift of the same amount to the Center for the Arts. And, since we want to provide an incentive for retirees and employees to direct their giving to the center project, gifts designated for it will be double-matched by the University.”

All employees—anyone who receives a regular University of Delaware paycheck—are eligible to participate in the matching gift campaign, including employees of Barnes and Noble, which operates the University Bookstore; Aramark, which has the dining services contract; and the Shaner Hotel Group, which operates the new Courtyard by Marriott hotel and manages conference services on campus.

Employees may contribute by check, credit card or payroll deduction. They may use the gift designation card they received recently in connection with the annual employee campaign or they may make a contribution online at [www.udel.edu/employeecampaign]. Those employees who have already made a gift by check or credit card as of May 1, 2004, or registered for payroll deduction for F.Y. ’05 will be credited under the matching gift program.

Employee contributions may be directed to any program or department or to the Center for the Arts, where there are a number of selected naming opportunities. Those opportunities range from small- or medium-sized music practice rooms, to the landscaped garden spaces, such as the Center for the Arts Quadrangle, to the major rehearsal and performance halls. In addition, donors will be recognized in University publications in categories reflecting their gift plus the matching amount.

“The theme of this year’s employee annual giving campaign is ‘Your contribution makes a difference!’ and now, for the Center for the Arts fund-raising effort, that is two or three times as true,” Roselle said.

For more information, contact Dina Wolanski in the Office of Annual Giving at (302) 831-4601 or send e-mail to [wolanski@udel.edu].

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