Tag Archives: Giving

November 29, 2016 · 9:23 am

Giving Tuesday and the Class of 1993 Giving to Penn (78 Weeks To Go)

By Kiera Reilly, C’93

The Penn Fund Giving Tuesday #LovethePennFund

Today, November 29, 2016, is Giving Tuesday, a day for global giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving.

On this #GivingTuesday, I encourage you to consider a donation to The Penn Fund. The Penn Class of 1993 has always been generous in giving back to Penn, and I hope we can continue that tradition, as the Penn Fund hopes to secure 500 alumni donations today.

Senior Class Gift

Our senior year, 603 classmates donated to our Senior Gift Drive, raising $14,190.02 in support of Penn and our class project, the Class of 1993 Endowed Scholarship. This was a 27% participation rate, a record-setting level of engagement (almost 150 more donors than 1992, the next closest year).

I was on the Senior Class Gift committee, and I remember the many meetings we had deciding on our class project and working to secure as many gifts as possible from fellow classmates. I found this note from our Gift Drive co-chairs Stephanie Fish and Lincoln Singleton in my pile of ’93 memories.

The Penn Fund Class of 1993 Senior Class Gift at the University of Pennsylvania

Letter from Senior Class Gift co-chairs Stephanie Fish and Lincoln Singleton

Stephanie shared her memories of co-chairing the Senior Class Gift Drive with Lincoln:

“I do remember working with Lincoln who was always full of energy and enthusiasm. I remember that we had great participation from our class, and I was very excited to hand over the big check on Alumni Day. I think that I felt that it was important to give back to Penn because I really had such a great four years–interesting classes, wonderful friends, and lots of new experiences. I wanted to make sure others could have that same great experience. Giving back is my way of saying thank you. It also makes it possible for the next generations to have these great opportunities.”

University of Pennsylvania Class of 1993 Senior Class Gift Drive Committee

Class of 1993 Senior Class Gift Drive committee photo from our yearbook – see if you can spot Penn President Sheldon Hackney in the back!

Reunion Giving

Since our senior year, we have continued to set records, still holding records for overall ($3million) and scholarship ($2.35million) fundraising in our 15th reunion, and unrestricted fundraising ($1.127million) in our 20th reunion. Thank you for your continued generosity to and support of Penn!

Penn Class of 1993 20th reunion check with planning and gift committees

Our 20th reunion planning and gift committees pose with our donation check at our 20th reunion party on May 10, 2013.

Penn Class of 1993 planning and reunion committees with gift check

More planning and gift committee members pose with our 20th reunion check on May 10, 2013

Penn Class of 1993 pose with Penn President Amy Gutmann and The Penn Fund Class of 1917 Award

Planning and gift committee members pose with President Gutmann at the annual President’s Volunteer Reception in May, 2014, with the Class of 1917 Award that we won based on our donations for our 20th reunion.

Giving Tuesday – Donate to The Penn Fund

Please join me in making a gift to The Penn Fund today. Your gift helps to support today’s Penn students, primarily through financial aid and by addressing the immediate needs to bolster the undergraduate experience. Your support WILL make a difference. To make a gift, please use the special Giving Tuesday Giving Page:  http://www.alumni.upenn.edu/givingtuesday.

Show your support by posting on social media with the hashtags #GivingTuesday and #LOVEthePennFund. You can also share an #UNselfie that shows why you choose to give back to Penn.

The Penn Fund Giving Tuesday #LovethePennFund

*Thank you to Rachel Swartz Robinson, Class Giving Director, 25th and 30th Reunions, The Penn Fund, for sharing the Class of 1993 giving stats with us!

Penn Class of 1993 Reunion Countdown

The weekend of November 11-12, 2016 marked 78 weeks until the 25th Reunion of the Penn Class of 1993 (May 11 – 13, 2018)! Join us we countdown the weeks to our reunion #93tothe25th:

  • Do you have old photos or mementos from our time at Penn? Photos of Spring Fling? Football at Franklin Field? Classes at DRL? We are taking a trip down memory lane and would love for you to share your memories with our class in a future post. Please email us upenn1993@gmail.com!
  • Follow us on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.
  • Classmates are invited to join our Facebook and LinkedIn groups.
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December 7, 2012 · 7:26 pm

T-Minus One Month!

Author: Amanda D’Amico

There’s less than one month to go until the close of Making History: the Campaign for Penn!

Making History is the most ambitious campaign in the University of Pennsylvania’s history, spanning every school and center and enabling Penn to enrich and strengthen programs to lead across disciplines. The comprehensive campaign sought to raise $3.5 billion while simultaneously strengthening the connection between alumni and the University.

Since its public launch in 2008, the Campaign has had great success. Alumni engagement has increased exponentially each year with more alumni attending Homecoming and Alumni Weekend than ever before. And, in September 2011, Penn reached is $3.5 billion overall goal.

While the overall dollar goal has been met, there is still more work to be done within the Campaign’s priorities, which include faculty support, undergraduate scholarships, graduate and professional student aid, buildings and renovations, programs and research, and unrestricted support. Help the University meet all of its goals by making your gift before December 31, 2012!

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June 1, 2012 · 1:11 pm

One Month to Go!

Author: Amanda D’Amico

June 1 has great significance to staff members in every school and center at Penn: it begins the final month of the fiscal year. Gift officers across the University will use the next 30 days to explain the importance of giving annually to as many alumni as possible.

You may receive a phone call or email from a Penn staff member. In fact, you may receive more than one, as there are several fundraising offices at Penn. Here is a short listing of all of the annual funds at Penn:

In case you do not notice an email in your already crowded email Inbox, I encourage you to explore these annual funds’ websites. Each annual fund supports different priorities, so be sure to check each site carefully as you decide where to make your gift.  And of course, these annual funds aren’t the only way to support Penn: you can also endow a scholarship or make a planned gift.

Make your gift by June 30 to be counted as a Proud Penn Donor for the 2012 fiscal year!

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July 20, 2011 · 7:15 pm

La Casa Latina Receives Largest Donation in History

Author: Cecilia Ramirez, C’05, SP2’10

If you graduated before 1998, you may not be familiar with La Casa Latina: The Center for Hispanic Excellence, the University of Pennsylvania’s only cultural resource center focused on Latino students and interests. To many Latino Penn alumni, however, we remember La Casa Latina fondly; a source of food, a group of shoulders to cry on, a great spot for naps, a team of life coaches, a designated homework (and procrastination) hub and, of course, a home away from home while at Penn. Being one of these former (and current) residents of this special casita, I was especially delighted to hear that an alumna recognized the vital importance of this center and made a generous donation. The Association of Latino Alumni will be featuring this story in its upcoming newsletter but I wanted to give you a sneak peak at the big news here:

Johnny Irizarry, Director of La Casa Latina

This past spring, The Center for Hispanic Excellence received a gift commitment of $20,000, its largest donation in history! Ruth Colp-Haber C’81, WG’85 (pictured below) is the generous donor and decided to contribute because of her strong connection to the Latino community and after an inspiring visit to La Casa.  Ruth explains her motivation:

I feel forever indebted to Penn for many reasons but perhaps the most important was mastering Spanish after studying abroad in Seville, Spain during my junior year.  These language skills enabled my husband and I to go to Colombia, South America to adopt our daughter, Carly.  Everyone in Colombia was impressed with my Spanish banter and my desire to raise a bilingual daughter.  Both Carly and I are now fluent Spanish speakers.

Ruth Colp-Haber, C’81, WG’85 and her family

I love the Spanish language, culture and people and wanted to do something to help promote these causes at Penn while also assisting deserving students.  Thus, a gift to La Casa Latina seemed very worthwhile.  Now that my daughter is 14 years old, I look forward with excitement to the possibility of her attending Penn and spending time with the wonderful students at La Casa Latina.

Johnny Irizarry, the Director of La Casa Latina expresses his excitement over this announcement, “The students, staff and advisory board members of La Casa Latina are extremely honored by the generous investment made by Ms. Ruth Colp-Haber in support of our programs and services. It is inspiring to receive such a donation from a Penn Alumna. It affirms the value of our role in furthering the University’s commitment to diversity.”

This is truly a historic donation and it cannot stop there! I hope Ruth’s generosity will inspire even more people to give towards such a remarkable place like La Casa.

Congratulations, La Casa Latina!

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