{"id":54995,"date":"2023-11-15T16:10:59","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T21:10:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=54995"},"modified":"2023-11-16T09:38:20","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T14:38:20","slug":"emu-celebrates-successful-start-to-forward-together-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2023\/emu-celebrates-successful-start-to-forward-together-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"EMU celebrates successful start to Forward Together campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Eastern Mennonite University alumni are more generous than the nation\u2019s average college graduates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s not just a gut feeling, either; it\u2019s backed by data. According to EMU Advancement, the Harrisonburg, Virginia, school sports a 12-percent participation rate for grads who give back, compared to a national average rate of eight percent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That royal generosity was on full display when donors helped EMU shatter its $10.7 million fundraising goal set for the first phase of its Forward Together<\/em> campaign<\/a>. From July 2020 to June 2023, more than 4,000 donors provided 17,538 gifts to raise $11.6 million for EMU, about $900,000 above the funding target. In addition to those current gifts, donors also pledged about $11.4 million in new estate commitments, for a grand total of roughly $23 million raised in the past three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those donors range in every age and demographic, as well as geographic region, said Braydon Hoover<\/strong> ’11, MA ’21<\/strong> (organizational leadership)<\/strong>, associate vice president for advancement at EMU. Nearly all of them have one major reason they give, though, and that\u2019s to help make college more affordable and accessible for EMU students. Their contributions have already benefited thousands of students, Hoover said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s donors and alumni and parents and businesses who stepped up and said, \u2018We want students to come to EMU, and we don\u2019t want them to leave with massive amounts of debt,\u2019\u201d Hoover said. \u201cAs soon as we crossed that $10.7-million threshold, we were cheering, we had a little party for our team, and we went to work sending out our thank you notes and our gratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A pandemic pivot <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

EMU and its advancement team had been on the cusp of launching a major comprehensive campaign for several years. They were ready to move forward in March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit hard and forced them to switch gears, Hoover said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe needed to completely pivot, as so many organizations did, to what was the most important piece, and for us that was how to care for students both compassionately as well as financially,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so we pivoted from a comprehensive campaign to Forward Together<\/em> Phase I, which was completely student-centric.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forward Together<\/em> Phase I prioritized three focus funds:<\/p>\n\n\n\n