Development
I
N OCTOBER 2006, THE RESULTS
of a “Landmark Philanthropy Study”, sponsored by the Bank of America, were released. The study was based on extensive
research of individual’s charitable practices and motivations and was conducted by The
Center for Philanthropy at Indiana University.
The results were intriguing.
CHARITABLE
GIVING HAS
INCREASED
OVER THE LAST
FIVE YEARS
Among the key findings were:
• “Giving back” is more important than “leaving
a legacy”
• There is a correlation between donations of
time and donations of dollars
• Donors report that even major tax policy
changes would not impact their giving
• Entrepreneurs are especially generous donors
• Charitable giving has increased over the last
five years
Giving back or meeting critical needs was cited
as the most important factor influencing their giving by 86 percent of donors surveyed. While leaving a legacy was only important to 26 percent.
People who donate to charitable causes are
likely to also donate their time. And the more
time volunteered, the larger their donation. This
reflects the importance of getting involved over
simply “writing a check”.
Donors reported that tax considerations are
far less important to them than is commonly assumed. 52 percent stated that their charitable
contributions would stay the same even if there
were zero tax deductions for gifts to charity.
The entrepreneurial spirit is evident in charitable giving. Entrepreneurs contribute the largest annual amounts to charity, extending their
spirit of risk taking and looking for results and
impact from their giving; viewing their contributions to be more of an investment than a gift.
Almost 65 percent of donors surveyed stated
they somewhat or dramatically increased their
giving in the past five years. Less than 12 percent
stated they decreased their contributions.
The results of this study confirm much of what
we already knew about CASNR’s alumni and
friends. You support our students and our programs because you have a desire to give back to
an institution that has helped you; the more involved you are, the more likely you are to invest
your hard earned money to help support the College’s missions of teaching, research and service;
tax benefits help, but are not the main reason
you make gifts; people with a good understanding of the “big picture” and who can see results
from their gifts tend to be very generous; and
your support of the college has increased significantly in recent years.
“GIVING BACK” IS MORE
IMPORTANT THAN
“LEAVING A LEGACY”
We are fortunate to have alumni and friends
who take an active interest the College and who
support it with your gifts of time and money.
Thank you!
To learn how you can enhance your support of the College through financial gifts or getting
involved in programs and areas of interest to you, please contact the CASNR Office of Development and Alumni Relations at 806.742.2802 or email scott.cooksey@ttu.edu.
Page 14 | Landmarks 2007
SCOTTY W. COOKSEY
Director of Development
and External Relations
Alumni Relations
E
VERY YEAR AS I WRITE MY
article for Landmarks I try to think
of interesting things to talk about
that you would enjoy as alumni and
friends of the College. Honestly, I
probably rewrite my portion at least six or seven
times before I’ve made a decision about what I
would like to convey to the alumni on behalf of
the Alumni Relations function of CASNR. So,
this year I decided to do things a little differently. I have broken down sections of information I
think will be of interest to you or that you might
have questions about.
Here it goes....
LANDMARKS
Welcome to Landmarks magazine! I hope you
enjoy this issue. Yet again, it has been a sincere
pleasure to get to know the alumni better who
are featured within these pages. I hope you enjoy
their stories.
Aside from the great alumni features, a few
things you will find in Landmarks this year are a
retirement announcement from one of our finest, a department name change, alumni events,
awards, opportunities to contribute and much,
much more. The college always has exciting information to pass along. I hope you feel some of
the energy of CASNR through this magazine.
PHONE-A-THON
Many of you have probably received calls from
student callers recently as we have started the
annual phone-a-thon. We truly appreciate your
generosity when giving to the college.
The student callers are a great asset to the College, our programs and scholarships. Last year,
the student callers secured 713 pledges to raise a
total of $76,775. This money is used to fund the
designated area of your choice and 100 % of the
money is used specifically for the purpose you
choose. Many of the contributions go toward the
College’s or departments’ discretionary funds,
student scholarships or specific programs within
the college.
While not all of the student callers are CASNR
students, they are students within the University and they work with our office to ensure they
have or can get you the information you need. So
I encourage you to interact with these students
and feel free to ask questions. Each week during the months in which they are making calls, I
receive reports of questions and comments from
alumni. I personally try to address each and every question or concern that you discussed with
the student callers.
Once again, I want to thank you for your consideration and for giving back to the College.
We appreciate and depend on your generosity to
make this wonderful College even better.
EVENTS
As you know, the College hosts alumni events
throughout the year. Many of these are traditional events that have been around for many
years, such as the annual Homecoming Breakfast
and the 50th Class Reunion. We have great turn
outs for these types of events and each year see
people attend that haven’t been on campus in
many, many years. It is a great time for people to
get together and visit with their classmates and
friends, and make a few new ones along the way.
We hope you make plans to visit campus during
these times and visit with us and other alumni.
MEMORY BENNETT
Coordinator of Alumni Relations
WELCOME TO
LANDMARKS MAGAZINE!
In addition to the traditional events, we have
been hosting regional events in conjunction with
industry organization trade shows, conventions
and conferences. We have done this for the past
four years and intend to continue these great receptions and gatherings. Some of the organizations we host receptions in conjunction with include: Texas Nursery and Landscape Association,
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Society for Range Management, American
Society of Landscape Architecture—Texas Chapter, Texas Seed Trade Association and the Ag
Teacher’s Conference.
You will find a list of events and tentative
dates for these events on page 16 or you can visit www.casnr.ttu.edu and click on Alumni and
Friends on the right side of the page and select
Alumni Events. I hope you always feel at home at
our events and invite you to join us every chance
you get.
For more information on Alumni
Events check out www.casnr.ttu.edu
or call 806.742.2802
memory.bennett@ttu.edu
Page 15
Alumni Events
CASNR ALUMNI EVENTS
Check out www.casnr.ttu.edu/developalumni/events
for more information.
Alumni Reception—Reno Sparks, NV
In conjunction with the Society for Range
Management Conference
February 13, 2007
Reno Sparks, NV
Distinguished Alumni Luncheon & Awards Program
February 19, 2007
006
reakfast 2
B
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i
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e
Hom
Alumni Reception—Fort Worth
In conjunction with Texas and Southwestern Cattle
Raisers Convention
March 23, 2007
Fort Worth Convention Center
Memory Bennett an
d
Homecoming dBaureaghkfter Kimber at
ast
Alumni Reception—Houston
In conjunction with the Texas Chapter of American
Society of Landscape Architecture
April 2007
50th + Class Reunion
May 2007
Alumni Reception—Dallas
In conjunction with the Texas Nursery and
Landscape Association
August 2007
Homecoming Breakfast
October 6, 2007
TTU vs. Iowa State
Dan Taylor enjoys co
Whitmore at Homnveecromsation with President
ing Breakfast
Ag & Natural Resources Awareness Week
October 2007
80th Annual Pig Roast
November 8, 2007
eigh enjoy the
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Page 16 | Landmarks 2007
Alumni Events
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Dr. Bill Bthene n5e0th Class Reunion
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Dr. Marvin Cepica enjoys conversation with a
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Alvin and Barbara Davis talk
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2006 Distinguished Alumni
to r): Craig Smith, Bob RileAward Recipients (l
Roy Cantrell, Robert E. Whitsy, Pam Cook Sirmon,
on and Bob Robinson
Page 17