The Spirit of Notre Dame Campaign: Embracing the life of the mind, the wisdom of the heart.
Inspirations: Patrick Corrigan '07 and Father Tom Streit '80, '85
One of the central forces that will propel the Spirit of Notre Dame campaign—and the University—will be the programs that encourage unrestricted giving: the Notre Dame Annual Fund, the Edward Frederick Sorin Society, and the President's Circle.
Each of these related programs has a key role to play. The Annual Fund provides an opportunity for the broad Notre Dame family to participate in both the campaign and the daily operations of the University, while helping to fund critical needs such as scholarships, library materials, and dorm renovations.
The Sorin Society encompasses a group of individuals who are able to support Notre Dame at one of three membership levels: Traditional, Founder’s Circle, and Legacy. Sorin members have been a staple of the Annual Fund for more than three decades. More recently, the President's Circle has been established to provide a pool of funds to assist Notre Dame's administration in responding to urgent priorities and maintaining a healthy operating budget.
In all, Spirit of Notre Dame is targeting $140 million in unrestricted gifts. Our success in this regard will depend on the involvement of every member of the Notre Dame family, participating in their most generous capacity. Whether that means a gift of $25 or $25,000, the University is counting on your exceptional loyalty and support.
How can I help?All gifts made to the Notre Dame Annual Fund, the Sorin Society, and the President's Circle through June 30, 2011, will be counted as gifts to the Spirit of Notre Dame campaign.
Questions? Please contact us at spirit@nd.edu.
“People often ask me if their small gift really makes a difference,” says Mike Brach (’88), senior director of development for annual giving at Notre Dame. “They absolutely do. Anytime you have significant numbers of people making gifts of just $10 or $20 a year in support of a shared mission, that creates an impact.”
Last year, 54.3 percent of alumni contributed to the Notre Dame Annual Fund, resulting in the University’s highest undergraduate participation rate ever. “One of the most encouraging things I saw last year was that we had nearly 11,000 donors making gifts of less than $50,” says Brach. “That collective groundswell of support and loyalty amounted to a substantial contribution.”
Those gifts impact the University’s operations dramatically. The Annual Fund is, in fact, a core part of Notre Dame’s budget, providing the resources and flexibility needed to award scholarships, purchase library materials, and underwrite a host of student life initiatives. As such, the smaller, unrestricted gifts that are the lifeblood of the Annual Fund also constitute an important part of the Spirit of Notre Dame campaign.
“Notre Dame is blessed to have a very generous community of alumni, parents, and friends who believe in what we are doing and want to be a part of this work,” says Brach. “For every donor making a gift of many thousands of dollars, we are fortunate to have thousands more individuals making gifts of equal sacrifice relative to their means—and every one of those gifts is an endorsement of the Notre Dame mission.”
Share what the spirit means to you
“The Spirit of Notre Dame means that anywhere I have moved in the United States, I have found people to welcome me and make me feel like I belong. It means instantly having a network of people available that can be relied upon. It means you have others around you to share stories and common experiences with. It means that home can be anywhere.”
Copyright © 2008 University of Notre Dame - Department of Development
1100 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556-5612 P: 574-631-7164 F: 574-631-8325 E: spirit@nd.edu
Supporting the Spirit
What does the Spirit of Notre Dame mean to you?
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