The Founder’s Day Campaign is an opportunity for alumni to give back to the School of Journalism. Alumni can donate in several ways, but this campaign recommends donating $19.08. The campaign offers an affordable option compared to donations of thousand-dollar scholarships. David Kurpius, Dean of Journalism, runs the campaign.
“We started the campaign on the day the school was founded [Sept. 14] and we use 1908 [every year] because that was the year we were founded,” Kurpius said. “We ask donors to give $19.08, but many donors move the decimal point and give more than that. Someone gave $1,908.”
According to an email from Donor Engagement Coordinator Abby Morimura, the campaign has raised almost $60,000 since its creation in 2019. The campaign is promoted throughout September, but remains open year-round with the help of staff like Colin Kilpatrick, senior executive director of advancement.
“[Founder’s Day is] a way for alumni to give back to the J-School for all it has done to prepare them for success in their careers,” Kilpatrick said. “Focusing the campaign around the founding of the world’s first journalism school also is a way for our graduates to stand up for journalism and its role in democracies around the world.”
Morimura wrote in the email that $40,000 of the funds raised have been used for The Missouri Method, an endowment aimed at helping newsrooms and agencies. The donations are known as unrestricted funds, which allows the School of Journalism to react quickly when renovations are needed.
“If you were working last spring in what was the Missourian newsroom and came back this fall, you would see an immediate change,” Kurpius said. “We tore down walls, put new paint and carpet in. We haven’t put desks in yet, but the endowment will pay for that.”
According to Kurpius, the campaign is promoted through many different mediums, such as an active email campaign, mailing campaign and social media campaign. They also send a postcard every year to everyone on the mailing list that includes a URL for alumni to donate through.
“We are very happy with the results,” Kurpius said. “We’ve got a significantly higher number of alumni now who are participating at the school as donors. So it’s really more about participation than big dollars, but it has led to bigger donations.”
The team, including Kilpatrick and Morimura, who work with Kurpius, aims to improve and increase alumni engagement each year.
“I led our team in the Journalism Advancement Office in conceiving the campaign several years ago as a way to engage alumni and increase the percentage of those who make charitable contributions to the J-School,” Kilpatrick said.
The campaign is available at tinyurl.com/GreatSince1908 or by texting Since1908 to 41444. It is not restricted to alumni nor the month of September, so anyone can donate at any point during the year.
“I’m super excited about [Founder’s Day], not because it’s millions of dollars, but because it’s a lot more engagement from our great alumni,” Kurpius said. “I’m very grateful to the alumni who give to this because they make the school more reactive and beneficial to the students.”
Edited by Namratha Prasad | nprasad@themaneater.com
