Fort Lewis College Annual Reports Summer Issue 2014 | Page 8

I A t’s an honor to have been selected by the Board to serve as the Fort Lewis College Foundation’s Chair. On behalf of the Foundation Board, I want to thank Terry Bacon for his service as Board Chair over the last three years. Under Terry’s leadership, the Foundation has been able to recover from the Great Recession and today is in a much stronger financial condition than most. Under very challenging economic conditions, the Foundation has been able to continue funding scholarships and faculty grants, and provide support to the College consistent with its mission. fter years of effort, I am excited to say that Fort Lewis College is getting the first phase of funding from the state to build its new Geosciences, Physics and Engineering (GPE) Building. A second phase of funding from the state will come in the future, but the College will need to raise money from private sources to complete the project. The need to raise money for projects like the GPE Building, as well as future uncertainty regarding state and federal funding for higher education, led us to hire additional staff in order to increase the Fort Lewis College Foundation’s capacity to generate private support for the College. Among the hires is new FLC Vice President for Advancement Mark Jastorff. Mark will lead the effort to strengthen relationships with alumni and friends, as well as secure private support for the College. He has more than 30 years of experience in higher education, most recently serving as executive director of the Metropolitan State University of Denver Alumni Association In addition to a vice president for Advancement, two major gift officers were brought on board. The major gift officer’s role is to bring in larger investments from a range of sources, from individuals to foundations. Thomas One of the major gift officers hired is Sarah Pretzer. She comes to Fort Lewis College from the Community College of Aurora Foundation where she was a campaign specialist. It was there that she oversaw the Transforming Lowry, Transforming Lives capital campaign. Sarah will be based in Durango at Fort Lewis College. Andy Miller, an alumnus of Fort Lewis College, is the other major gift officer hired. He will be based out of the Front Range to better enhance the FLC Foundation’s presence in an area where thousands of Fort Lewis College alumni are located. Andy has worked in relationship sales, development and fundraising in both the for-profit and non-profit arenas. He was most recently a major gift officer for the University of Wyoming Foundation. More detailed profiles of Mark, Andy and Sarah will be forthcoming in the next edition of the Foundation’s newsletter. Update from the Board Chair Gene Bradley Last summer, Fort Lewis College announced plans to make some major changes in the fundraising area which include adding resources to improve fundraising effectiveness. With state and federal funding not keeping pace with today’s rapidly changing education landscape, FLC, like most other public institutions, must raise more money from the private sector. The College has just completed hiring a new Vice President of Advancement and two major gift officers. With the changes in fundraising well underway, the Board believes it is the right time for the Foundation to evaluate its structure and operations with an eye toward what we want to look like five years from now. We must work in partnership with the College and close collaboration is critical for both organizations to fulfill their missions and meet the needs of donors and students. This process will be accomplished in a careful and thoughtful way and has to be tied closely with the changes taking place with fundraising at FLC. We will keep you posted on our progress. Regardless of changes that may occur, the Foundation’s most important priority and fiduciary responsibility has and will continue to be stewardship of donor funds that includes making sure donor intent is honored and prudently managing the funds. A very sad note. Henry Philips who has been a Board member for over twenty years and was Treasurer and Chair of the Investment Committee passed away last month after a brief illness. Henry was a wonderful man, a very special person. He was such a valuable asset to the community, especially the College and Foundation. We will be forever grateful for his dedicated service. He will be missed by all of us. On April 27, the Foundation held its annual TLC dinner with a change in venue. The dinner was at the Grand Ball Room in the Student Union rather than downtown restaurants. It was a resounding success with over 200 in attendance and included participation by faculty and students. Net funds raised for scholarships and faculty grants totaled over $62,000, a record for this event. Thank you to Foundation staff, the volunteer committee, sponsor and auction donors and the community for participating and making this year’s TLC the best ever. With exciting changes taking place, FLC and the Foundation working together are turning another page with the objective of doing what’s best for students who are our future. None of our successes are possible without the time and effort of a dedicated staff and board, volunteers and generous donors. Thank you . Information on how the new Geosciences, Physics and Engineering Building will help FLC students can be found at this link. Mark Jastorff, Fort Lewis College’s new Vice President of Advancement Dr. Dene Thomas President, Fort Lewis College Gene Bradley Board Chair, FLC Foundation