A Day funds meet needs

Helen Hendee didn't realize that a trip down to Georgia Southern University about 15 years ago would turn so profitable.

In 1994, she and a team from Augusta State University visited the Statesboro campus to learn about its annual fundraising campaign and whether it could prove successful in the Garden City.

"We were so overwhelmed with the success of the program," Ms. Hendee, ASU's vice president for development and alumni relations, recalled.

The trip was the foundation for A Day, Augusta State's annual campaign to raise money on campus and in the community, which has generated $6.2 million in its 15 years. Each year the university increases the goals for the campus and the community, and each year those goals have been surpassed to fund things such as community outreach, scholarships, study abroad programs, the honors program and other projects.

The ASU literacy center, one of the beneficiaries of the campaign, couldn't operate without it, Director Paulette Harris said. The literacy center tutors 17 people every hour that it's open, serving children and adults throughout the area and as far away as Burke and McDuffie counties and South Carolina.

Funding from A Day has been "absolutely essential," Dr. Harris said. "It's tremendously valuable to us."

The literacy center is a great community outreach and provides tutoring experience to college students, Ms. Hendee said.

A Day has funded projects, such as the literacy center, annually, but it has also made one-time purchases. The music department, for instance, received practice pianos.

Dr. Angela Morgan, the chairwoman of the Department of Music, said her budget doesn't provide money for instruments. That's why the $10,000 from A Day was necessary to purchase three stand-up pianos.

Donors want to see money going directly to the students and serving their needs, rather than going to brick and mortar projects, Director of Annual Giving Michelle Ellington said, adding that the university must be good stewards of the funding. And being good stewards encourages more giving.

Ms. Hendee said the success of A Day continues to grow.

"We don't have a sales pitch any more," she said. "When I talk to my colleagues throughout the system, they are jealous because we have a good thing going."

The campus leads by example with more than 80 percent contributing and 10 faculty members giving $1,000 or more to become a member of the President's Club this year, and the community follows suit, the vice president said. The campus is close to its annual goal of $135,000, raising more than $115,000 on the first day of the campaign alone.

The community side of the campaign is continuing to collect money. That figure will be announced in October.

"It is all to support the university," Ms. Hendee said.

Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.