Ohio University's SAFM Annual Fund campaign is in full-swing. We are happy to report that we have made great strides to further the program through newly created initiatives.

To date, the fund has accumulated gifts in excess of $47,000! Additionally, over $22,000 of this year's gifts can be attributed to donors who did not contribute in the 2008 fiscal year.

In attempting to boost the SAFM Annual Fund it is important for us to continually re-invent ourselves and create new initiatives. This holds especially true given the current economic times. Prior to this year we had utilized a "Class Captains" program that was put into place solely for the annual campaign. Although this role was successful, we saw an opportunity to evolve these positions into "Class Representatives."

This year's 45 Class Representatives, covering 15 classes (1993-2008), will have a number of important roles. Representatives will be primary liaisons to each class and will continue to assist in the SAFM Annual Fund, and in addition they will also begin to communicate job openings to their classmates. We receive information on many jobs and work very hard to keep our alumni informed about these opportunities.

Other ancillary roles of the Class Representatives will include updating contact information for the directory and assisting in boosting Symposium attendance (May 14-16, 2009 - Click here for more information or Register now for our 2009 Symposium!). Lastly, Representatives will continue to convey the important message regarding how SAFM Annual Fund money is utilized - simply stated, these funds go directly to second-year MSA students in the way of Graduate Assistantships!

As a testament to the effectiveness of this program, we have already seen several classes surpass last year's participation and total giving through the efforts of Class Representatives. Furthermore, the program facilitates communication between alumni, and continues to strengthen the Ohio Sports Ad family.
 
A new emphasis of the SAFM Annual Fund is a multi-year pledge program) called the Honor Roll that requires a minimum total donation of $1,000 over 4 years. To date, 4- and 5-year pledges total in excess of $49,500! Our Class Representatives have secured all multi-year pledges to date, but this pledge option is available to all alumni. If you are interested in learning more about a multi-year pledge, please contact Matt Kirinovic ([email protected] or 740-597-1264). These long-term donors will be recognized annually in the SAFM Directory beginning this year. The last date to become an Honor Roll member this year is February 25th. Also being recognized on these pages will be an Honor Roll of classes, representing the top 5 giving (in total dollars) and top 5 participating (by percentage) classes for the 2008 fiscal year.

The Sports Administration Annual Fund is off to a great start in 2009, but there is more work to be done. The Annual Fund will receive pledges until June 2009. Your support is crucial in continuing the success of this prestigious program!

If you have any questions regarding the SAFM Annual Fund please contact Matt Kirinovic at 740-597-1264 or e-mail him at [email protected].

We look forward to seeing you all at this year's Symposium!