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I recently attended a CIU Chapel led by one of our development
directors, Frank Bedell, and came away with a new appreciation
for the connection between our donors and students. Frank has
a wonderful heritage and has been an employee for 30 years.
Prior to that he graduated from Ben Lippen School and received
his degree from CIU. Given that long history, Frank has seen
both changes, but also consistency of mission.
Frank used a visual tool in his chapel presentation – he actually
had CIU’s Physical Plant build a giant see-saw to demonstrate
leverage, or as he put it, “the physics of giving.” He emphasized
that dollars from donors are leverage that provide financial aid
for students to help them carry the burden of the cost of their
education. It brought to mind the three areas, Financial Aid,
Operations, and Special Projects where donor gifts actually work
together – not in competition, but in connection.
The first topic of Frank’s presentation was
Financial Aid
. The
dollars that are contributed to CIU for Financial Aid create an
obligation of stewardship on our part. Those dollars are either
given to one-time scholarships and are awarded fully as the
gift is received or, the gifts can be placed in an endowment
earning interest, and that interest is what is awarded for student
Financial Aid. To be effective, there must be both. President Bill
Jones said that
“in the future there will be two types of private
Christian institutions – those that are endowed and those that
are extinct.”
At the same time, however, there are students who
need a one-time scholarship to complete their education.
Second and equally important are CIU’s day-to-day
Operations
including faculty and staff salaries, utility bills, health insurance,
and academic and athletic program support. The increasing
cost of providing an education for students has been well
documented. And while costs have risen at CIU, a CIU
education is still a great value due to the stewardship of our
team. We have leveraged our resources to create real value
for our students. As a matter of fact, CIU is ranked #6 among
colleges and universities in the Southeast for having the “Best
Bang for the Buck.”
(See page 6.)
The generosity of our donors
plus CIU’s integrity equals the best education for the lowest
possible price.
The third application of donor gifts is
Special Projects
, each
one making an impact on the University both in attracting
new students and engaging those students in a vital campus
community. I think of the Fisher building where many alumni had
their classes, Shortess Chapel, the Schuster Building, and most
recently our athletic fields.
So indeed, CIU donors are the leverage expanding resources so
CIU can attract quality faculty and students, as well as improving
our campus community life. Strengthening the fulcrum to CIU’s
priorities of Financial Aid, Operations, and Special Projects
creates the optimum balanced motion and energy – “The
Physics of Giving.”
THE PHYSICS OF GIVING
By Jeff Wheeler
Sr. Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Development Director Frank Bedell (right)
demonstrates the leverage of a scholarship
donor with CIU seminary student Sarah
Cramer. Bedell represents the donor and
Cramer’s backpack represents her tuition.
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DEVELOPMENT
CIU Today
www.ciu.edu