IUSF is SO MONEY

Zealous to beat their archrival, IU seniors recently outdonated their Purdue counterparts in a contest run by the two universities' school funds. In a donation competition held through this spring, 14.7 percent of IU seniors gave or pledged monetary gifts for the school fund, outnumbering Purdue rivals by a margin of 3.3 percent, the IU Annual Fund reported. The contest, called 2002 Senior Face Off, pitted the rivaling seniors against each other to spur their drive to donate, with the winners determined solely by the participation rate.\nThe IU Annual Fund and the Purdue Annual Giving jointly designed and administered the first face-off in history.\n"It was a success," said Erin Trisler, associate at the IU Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to maximizing private resources for IU. "We had more people participate than last year probably because of the competition with Purdue."\nIn both spring 2000 and spring 2001, the annual fund ran the fundraising independently, Trisler said. The number of IU donors averaged 320, or eight percent of about 4,000 seniors contacted by the annual fund. This spring, with the introduction of the senior face-off, the number rose to 588, or 14.7 percent of 4,000 seniors contacted.\nThrough the face-off, IU seniors pooled about $10,000 in donations, Trisler said. The money will help fund technology, scholarships and career resources, Trisler said.\nAs the winner, IU was awarded bragging rights, said Jonathan Purvis, director of the IU Student Foundation, which marketed the fundraising in Bloomington.\n"It's good to encourage philanthropy in general," Purvis said. "And building off the natural rivalry between IU and Purdue is a good catch.\n"Anytime you can say, 'We beat Purdue in this,' or 'We are better than Purdue in that,' it is a good, friendly rivalry."\nSenior Brad Ader, who donated during this spring, said he felt like donating mainly because he got a job around that time. But he said the IU-Purdue rivalry probably motivated other donors.\n"Not necessarily large amounts, but I think you will get far more $10 and $15 donations than if there were no contest at all," Ader said.\nTrisler said the face-off's long-term goal is to increase the number of alumni who routinely donate for IU.\n"We would like (our seniors) to acquire a habit of giving, because the majority of the operating budget for IU comes from private donations," Trisler said.\nAccording to the IU Foundation's Web site, about 45 percent of annual IU budgets come from private donations, the rest coming from fees, tuitions and state subsidies. \nThe staff of the IU and Purdue funds came up with the idea of the face-off last summer as they jointly redesigned their fundraising, Trisler said.\n"We thought we needed to make it fun and to have a spirited competition with it," Trisler said.\nAfter they laid all the groundwork, the two funds enlisted their student foundations to involve students effectively. \nIn Bloomington, IUSF and its 25 student volunteers marketed the face-off, encouraging seniors to donate. \nThe face-off began in late January, with Purdue staff advertising it passionately.\n"Participating in the Senior Face Off gives every Boilermaker the chance to … show their school spirit through gifts and pledges, and beat IU one more time before graduating," said Jennifer Pratt, associate director of the Purdue Annual Giving, in a recent press release.\nDonations benefit IU students and alumni alike, Trisler said. Alumni contributions are a criterion in many school rankings, she said.