Staff members at the NIU Foundation understand how hard their campus colleagues work.
They also know that employees care deeply about the success of the university and, mostly, the academic and career enrichment of its students.
That’s why they’re sending letters Monday, March 25, to faculty and staff to solicit financial contributions that will fund scholarships or benefit colleges, departments or other units or programs on campus.
Dollars contributed toward scholarships can help to attract the best and brightest to NIU and change the future for those who might not otherwise be able to attend, said Mary Pritchard, associate director of the Northern Fund and direct mail coordinator at the NIU Foundation.
“We’re asking faculty and staff to go above and beyond all the hard work they already do on campus and give back to the university,” Pritchard said.
“It’s important because we are at this university and we give it our time and talents as we work, but we want to show support for the institution that employs us. We want to make it better. We want it to flourish. And so we need to take the first step and lead by example.”
Employees who pledge before Friday, April 19, will enjoy a special recognition.
“Our students deliver balloons to all NIU faculty and staff donors. We want them to see how much we appreciate their support,” Pritchard said. “Everyone else on campus will see the impact of faculty and staff donors.”
Faculty will receive letters signed by either Dan Gebo, a Board of Trustees Professor in the NIU Department of Anthropology; Supportive Professional Staff Council President Todd Latham; or Operating Staff Council President Andy Small.
“For me, the Faculty Fund scholarships have meant opportunity for meritorious students to explore who they are and to gain a quality college education,” Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus Linda Sons adds to Gebo’s letter. “Such students enrich the university student body and are a joy for faculty to teach. Upon graduation, they will make our society better. I am happy to invest in them.
Current donors will receive letters asking them to give more if they can. “Even increasing by $5 makes a big difference,” Pritchard says.
All letters come with a payroll deduction form, one of three ways to make a donation. The minimum payroll deduction is $5 per month. Potential contributors also can register their donations online or by sending one-time checks.
For more information on the faculty-staff campaign, call Pritchard at (815) 753-8198 or email mspritchard@niu.edu.
