Page 18 - BusinessWest October 28, 2024

Javier Reyes says the campaign is an opportunity to achieve a new level of fundraising — and a new way of connecting with alumni.
On-the-Money Analysis
As she talked about the “Accelerate” campaign, its goals, the money raised to date, and the work still to be done to reach its lofty goal, Duffy drew an autumn analogy.
“It’s apple season right now,” she said. “And after you pick all the apples you can reach from the ground, you’ve got to figure out how to climb higher into the tree. It’s the same with a campaign like this one. The people that we already know and have relation- ships with, we’re talking to — we know where they are. As you
work through all those known friends, you’ve got to figure out what’s higher up in the tree.”
And in the process of getting higher into the tree, the university will do more of that connecting and reconnecting mentioned ear- lier, and “inviting people in,” said Duffy, adding that this is one of the more intriguing, and beneficial, aspects of a campaign like this one — as is the ability to tell the university’s story to a wide range of audiences.
Reyes agreed. “When you look at this campaign, it gives you that kind of notoriety and the ability to project to the nation and the world where you are,” he said. “Some of your alumni that may not already be connected will be found, will be connected, through these efforts, so with the next campaign, you will have a stronger network, a stronger base from which you can continue to nurture and build relationships.”
“Accelerate,” as noted, is the most ambitious fundraising cam- paign in the school’s 161-year history. The previous campaign, called “UMass Rising,” ran from 2010 to 2016 and raised $379 million from more than 103,000 donors.
“Accelerate” officially began in 2018, said Duffy, and was really just getting started when the pandemic hit, slowing things some- what, especially when it comes to the face-to-face discussions that are critical when it comes to securing larger, transformational gifts.
But the campaign has certainly gained some momentum, she noted, adding that it has been helped by the generational transfer of wealth to the Baby Boom generation, a larger and seemingly more energetic alumni base, and the university’s rise in stature
and the rankings.
Duffy noted that, while there are several constituencies being
approached for support, the alumni base is the largest and, in many ways, the most important.
There are now more than 300,000 alums, she said, and they are scattered across the country and around the world. But there are several dense pockets — Massachusetts, obviously, but also the New York City area, Washington, D.C., the West Coast, and, increasingly “warmer climates.”
“When you look at this campaign, it gives you that kind of notoriety and the ability to project
to the nation and the world where you are. Some of your alumni that may not already
be connected will be found, will be connected, through these efforts, so with the next campaign, you will have a stronger network, a stronger base from which you can continue to nurture and build relationships.”
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