By Aimee H. Hansen, ‘02
BOOTHS, posters, blinking badges, loud music, and President Merrill J. Bateman flipping hamburgers—the sights and sounds of the BYU Annual Fund’s “Choose to Give” campaign flooded campus once again. The weeklong campaign, staffed by student volunteers, takes place every year in March to promote student donations to the university. “But the campaign is not about money,” says Kyle W. Tresner, ’95, associate director of annual giving. “It’s about teaching philanthropy. It’s about giving back. It’s about building a Zion campus.”
And last year’s donations to the Annual Fund—from students, alumni, employees, and friends of the university—show that these ideals are catching on.
Student donations for 2001 totaled $278,000, almost $250,000 more than the student total in 2000. Young alumni’s numbers were also up: they gave $132,000, compared to the previous year’s $54,000. Contributions of alumni and friends amounted to more than $3 million, and BYU faculty, staff, and administration also gave generously.
Donations to the Annual Fund are matched five-to-one for students, two-to-one for young alumni (graduates of less than 11 years), and one-to-one for all other donors. The matches gave the university approximately $5 million in 2001, making a grand total of $9 million for the 2001 Annual Fund. Linda M. Palmer, ’71, director of annual giving, says, “The 2001 year was tremendously successful. Everything is going in the right direction. It’s exciting to see the support.”
