The Augustana Fund

The unrestricted gifts contributed to The Augustana Fund provide far-reaching benefits to the entire Augustana community by giving financial support for virtually every purpose and function of the Augustana teaching and learning community. Contributions provide support for academic, scholarship, athletic and cultural programs, faculty recruitment, campus renewal, departmental programs and student initiatives. We enthusiastically thank all alumni, parents and friends who generously support The Augustana Fund every year!

Why are philanthropic gifts so important to Augustana?
The college has three primary sources of revenue: tuition, gift income, and endowment earnings. Philanthropic gifts equaled approximately $9.12 million of Augustana's total revenue in Fiscal Year 2008-09 (July 1 - June 30). The generosity of our donors enables more students to achieve the goal of an Augustana education, and in turn the ultimate beneficiaries of this investment are the communities and institutions in which our graduates live and serve. 

How important is The Augustana Fund?
Donors to The Augustana Fund contributed $1,400,218 in Fiscal Year 2008-09. The generosity of our alumni and friends through The Augustana Fund ensures the college is able to maintain financial aid, academic programs, salaries, facilities, and tuition at competitive levels. Other sources of gift income include estate gifts, grants, gifts to endowment, and gifts for restricted purposes. 

Does my modest gift really matter to Augustana?

YES! Every gift, no matter the size, is important to our overall effort. We welcome and value gifts of ANY amount and designation. Even $50, $25 or $10 is a valuable investment in the mission of Augustana College. In Fiscal Year 2007-08 more than $249,360 was given to the college by generous donors who made gifts of under $100. Together, they made a big impact on the college.

Your gift counts in other ways, too. Foundations and trusts take into consideration the overall number of donors to a school--especially alumni donors--when determining fiscal viability and institutional strength for major grant approval and higher education rankings for the college. Strong alumni participation indicates satisfaction with academic programs and improves Augustana's national rankings, thereby strengthening the power of each alumni diploma. Your gift-no matter the size-will help make other gifts to the college possible! We set a goal of 100% alumni participation each and every year to help keep the Augustana name strong for our alumni, our current students, and our students of tomorrow. 

How are gifts to The Augustana Fund used to benefit teaching and learning at Augustana?
The following sampling illustrates some of the ways in which contributions to The Augustana Fund are invested on campus: 

Fryxell Geology Museum
The Augustana Fryxell Geology Museum hosted and provided more than 5050 people with formal, interactive and hands-on geology programs and tours through scheduled elementary school field trips, community science days and open houses, and thousands of students and members of the public who visited the museum throughout the year on their own. 

Art History
The Art History Department utilized Augustana Fund giving this year to reinforce field trips for three art history classes to the Art Institute of Chicago to reinforce class work through critical examination of their general collection as well as entrance to the special Winslow Homer and Edward Hopper exhibitions. In addition, Augustana Fund gifts helped transition from slide to digital technology in order to continue the most effective teaching resources for the art history courses, as well as the AGES (Augustana General Education Studies) first-year curriculum through the web gallery accessible by all faculty across campus.

Athletics
Improvements were made to college athletic facilities, including painting the interior of the Carver PE Center to compliment the installation of new bleachers and a new scoreboard. The main entrance to Carver was renovated and a display celebrating the accomplishments and achievements of Viking teams and athletes was installed.

Music
On April 13, 2008, students in the Augustana Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Band and Choir added performing in a world-class venue to the list of opportunities from which they've benefited during their time at Augustana. An audience of parents, Augustana alumni and other music lovers, spent an evening enjoying the talents of Augustana students, made all the more spectacular by the acoustical and visual splendor of the location--Orchestra Hall, home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Gifts to The Augustana Fund helped to make this gala performance a transformative event for students and audience.

Communication Sciences and Disorders
Students in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department learn and practice their speech and language evaluation and treatment skills at Augustana's Center for Communicative Disorders. Community families come to this center for therapeutic services for adults and children with communication disorders and differences. Students benefit through the purchase of audio recorders to collect speech and language samples of clients, children's books for use in intervention, and headphones so parents can hear their children while in intervention and better participate in the treatment program.

Internships
Thirteen students from business, accounting, speech communication, and speech pathology traveled to Sydney, Australia during Winter Term to complete valuable internships in their major areas of study.

Campus Ministries
A major priority of Augustana's Campus Ministries program is to identify, train, and support students as leaders in ministry, both during their college years and afterwards. Every year the college's three chaplains choose students to serve on the Campus Ministries Leadership Team. This team chooses a theme for the year and plans worship, Bible study, retreats, community outreach, and other activities around that theme. When they graduate, these students hit the ground running as active lay leaders in congregations and as future pastors, youth ministers, missionaries, and church musicians.

Theatre
The 2007-2008 theatre season opened with William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. For the cast of more than twenty characters many beautiful and intricate costumes from the Elizabethan period had to be designed and constructed by the costume shop staff and students. The production required elaborate scenery complete with faux stained glass windows, multiple levels, and arts and crafts style architectural details. Newly purchased lighting equipment allowed for very theatrical effects which enhanced the audience's enjoyment of this popular comedy and contributed to student learning.

How can I give to the Augustana Fund?
We welcome your gift in a variety of ways. The easiest is to give by credit or debit card online through our secure giving portal. You can also send a gift by mail to:

The Augustana Fund
Office of Advancement
Augustana College
639 38th Street
Rock Island, IL 61201-2296

Tax-deductible donations can be made by cash, check, credit card, and stock (or other appreciated securities) transfer. Gifts can also be made through installments (monthly, quarterly, etc.), and we are happy to send you a gift reminder on your requested installment schedule. Monthly or quarterly automatic bank withdrawals can also be arranged. Membership in annual gift clubs is based on the total amount of gifts received from a donor during the college's fiscal year, July 1 - June 30. Matching gifts are included with personal gifts when considering gift club recognition levels, so be sure to check our online matching gift directory to see if your employer offers a matching gift program to multiply the value of your gift!

For more information about The Augustana Fund, please contact:

Steve Wasser, Director of Annual Giving
(800) 798-8100 x7728
stevewasser@augustana.edu