5. Office of Donor Relations and Stewardship

The Donor Relations and Stewardship Office partners with various units to facilitate proper gift acknowledgment, multi-year pledge monitoring and maintenance, fund reporting, donor appreciation activities and events, donor recognition, and stewardship activities.

Donor Recognition

In addition to the various recognition societies present within the schools, colleges, and units, the University of Georgia recognizes donors with the following gift societies: The Presidents Club, The UGA Partners Program, Senior Signature, The Heritage Society, The Parents and Families Program, and The Cumulative Giving Societies. With the exception of the Senior Signature, Parents and Families, and The Heritage Society, the recognition society activities of the University are handled or coordinated by the Office of Donor Relations and Stewardship, which reports to the Senior Vice President for External Affairs. TOP

Gift Acknowledgment

All gifts received by The Arch Foundation for the University of Georgia, Inc., are acknowledged with an Arch Gift Receipt. This standard response is supplemented in many instances by an additional form of acknowledgment. In Honor/In Memory gifts, gifts of $10,000.00 and above, faculty/staff payroll deduction contributions, and other special contributions prompt a supplemental ARCH response. The Office of Gift Accounting issues all Gift Receipts. The Donor Relations and Stewardship Office issues all other acknowledgments. The various units, schools, and colleges issue additional acknowledgments as needed in keeping with their respective recognition societies and gift acknowledgment guidelines. TOP

Multi-Year Pledge Administration

The Office of Donor Relations and Stewardship works closely with the Gift Accounting Office on monitoring the pledge payment status of multi-year pledge commitments. The Office of Gift Accounting is responsible for the distribution of pledge reminders. In all pledge matters, the Office works closely with the Office of Gift Accounting and the appropriate central/constituent-based development officers. The scheduled issuing of Donor Statements (pledge reminders) is a joint responsibility of the Office of Gift Accounting and the Office of Donor Relations and Stewardship. TOP

Stewardship

The Donor Relations and Stewardship Office will distribute to donors and donor representatives annual statements on the fiscal status of endowed funds held by Arch. The Office will work closely with Arch Budgets and Accounting to ensure the accurate and timely reporting to all donors/donor representatives. A primary stewardship activity is the distribution of the annual Arch Report to Donors and the annual creation and distribution of Endowment Reports. Produced by UGA Public Affairs, Arch, and the Office of Donor Relations and Stewardship, the report highlights Arch initiatives, provides an Honor Roll listing of prominent donors, and presents a financial profile of the past fiscal year. Other important stewardship activities handled by the office (in conjunction with the Office of Special Events) include the annual Presidents Dinner, the annual Celebration of Support and the annual Presidents Club Reception.TOP

The Presidents Club

The Presidents Club recognizes donors whose annual gifts total $1,000 or more. The Presidents Club has a tiered structure recognizing Associate members donating $1,000-$4,999 within the fiscal year’s campaign, Fellows, at $5000 – 9,999, and Benefactors, at $10,000 and above. University Partners (described below) are also Presidents Club members. Founding members of the Presidents Club have a special lifetime distinction having joined in the first twenty years of the program. These individuals made a $10,000 total commitment and/or purchased a $25,000 life insurance policy naming Arch as the sole beneficiary.TOP

University Partners Program

An enhanced Presidents Club level, University Partners are individuals whose annual gifts to UGA total $2,500 or greater and support the President’s Venture Fund in total or in part. University Partners enjoy a unique flexibility in choosing how their gifts will benefit UGA. All Partners support the Venture Fund with a $1,000 minimum gift which helps meet unbudgeted funding challenges throughout the academic year. Donors may choose to designate the remainder of their gift to the academic area of their choice. (Athletic ticket priority programs are not included.) University of Georgia faculty and staff (current and retired) may join the Partners program at a reduced level of $1,500 in annual support with at least $500 designated to the President’s Venture Fund. Additional information on the program and Venture Fund distributions is available at http://www.alumni.uga.edu/gafund/Partners.html. TOP