Aside from the fact that donations provide the university opportunities to improve or initiate programs and projects, alumni giving, in general, serves as an integral  measure of an institution's strength as outside entities consider funding requests.

Mary Ann Olinger, director of Annual Giving at Ball State, gives an example. "Participation is important when the university applies for grants," Olinger says. "Corporations and foundations want to know how many of our internal friends support us."

One statistic used by U.S. News is the percentage of alumni who participate in annual giving to the university. Ball State is listed in the nation's top 162 colleges and universities in the most recent rankings.

Among its Mid-American Conference counterparts, the university continuously ranks among the top in percentage of alumni giving. In the 2003 edition of Voluntary Support of Education, produced by the Council for Aid to Education, Ball State recorded a 13.9 percent participation rate for alumni support. The figure, above the national average, is based upon the number of alumni of record and represents 18,987 alumni who made gifts to the university during fiscal year 2002-03.

Ball State's annual giving program is at the crux of successfully garnering alumni support. Getting alumni on board is not difficult when there is an established loyalty and a perceived value to be gained from the gift. Recent graduates Kiley and Jim Fields are among the ranks of regular Ball State donors. "We continue to be excited with the progress and expansion that Ball State is achieving and are proud to contribute to such an effort," Kiley Fields says.

Kiley, who graduated in 1998, and Jim, a 1997 graduate, were actively involved on campus as undergraduates. Their giving history began when they graduated. They are Cardinal Circle donors, a program created to recognize those who contributed in the year of their degree and every year thereafter. Jim Fields gives reasons he and his wife have been loyal donors. "We give to Ball State because we believe in the impact its teachers, athletics, and campus programs have on students' lives," Fields says. "Ball State provided us with fond memories, personal growth, and achievement through education and social involvement."

Olinger says that when the Cardinal Circle program was established, the primary emphasis was to engage alumni who had obtained their undergraduate degree within the past five years. However, it was discovered that some alumni had a much longer consecutive record of giving. "We have some who have given ten or more years consecutively, and many are long-term donors, for as many as 40 years," Olinger says. They, too, are members of the Cardinal Circle.

She adds that now there is an opportunity for alumni to become involved in the Cardinal Circle program even if they were not donors right after graduation by "buying back years for $25 per year." This allows the donor to "purchase" each year leading up to when he or she began to contribute annually.

Ball State has devised other ways to encourage gifts from recent graduates and get them in the habit of philanthropic giving. A senior campaign is conducted each year in the spring. "The campaign is used as an opportunity to get graduating seniors onto the donor role," says Olinger, noting that the university suggests gifts of $10-$25. In recent years the campaign has been determined through a voting process. "We sent an e-mail with four possible projects and let the seniors vote. The project with the most votes was the one for which the class was solicited," Olinger says.

Funding for a new student center and for an electronic marquis for Emens Auditorium are examples of past projects the senior solicitation has undertaken. This year, Olinger says, a different method is being used. "We will solicit the students for the Ball State Fund," she says, explaining that the fund allows the university flexibility, as it is used for wherever the need is greatest. Programs supported by the fund reach all corners of the university and include scholarships, student and faculty recruitment and retention, innovative academic programs, special capital projects, and other needs and opportunities that are vital to Ball State.

Fund-raising research points to a clear fact that individuals who contribute even small gifts at an earlier time tend to be the people who, with cultivation, become major donors. Therefore, keeping alumni on the giving role continues to be an emphasis of Ball State's fund-raising program.

Olinger suggests that personal contact through individual visitation or planned social events is one effective way to reach out to alumni and keep them connected to Ball State. Another is the phonathon, which is an integral component of the university's annual fund effort.

Nearly 50 students, freshmen through seniors, make up the phonathon staff. Through the phonathon, past and current donors, in addition to those who have never given, are contacted annually. Phonathon results indicate alumni respond favorably, as more than $1 million in gifts has been collected in each of the past four years.

"We are on target to top the $1 million mark again this year," says Olinger, adding that the student callers are currently ahead of last year's record.

The phonathon procedure includes sending a mailing about three weeks before the phone contact is made. Mailings are tailored to particular audiences. To those who are current donors to the annual fund, an appeal is made to continue or increase the previous year's gift.

Those who have given in the past but are not on the current role receive a mailer inviting them back with an appeal that states, "We've missed you," and displaying a missing puzzle piece. If someone has never given, the individual is asked to join the ranks of proud alumni to support the university and help increase national awareness of Ball State's excellence by expanding its resources.

Students working the phone bank call every Sunday through Thursday evening throughout the year. "From August through December, we focus on calling on behalf of the colleges and departments," Olinger says. "We often have faculty or representatives from the department join us for those evenings we are calling for them." They help to answer questions or just to connect with their graduates.

Phoning on behalf of specific areas on campus continues through December, when attention shifts to seeking other contributions.

In January, students begin contacting alumni with the purpose of collecting for the Ball State Fund, according to Olinger.

Giving to the university is designed with convenience in mind. Contributions may be returned via regular mail and donors now have the option of giving online. One may make a credit card gift by going to the university's Web site, bsu.edu/giving.

Added to the fact that one is helping Ball State achieve its educational goals, there are other incentives for contributing. Gifts are tax- deductible and Indiana residents also have a special state tax credit available for all gifts that support institutions of higher education.

"There are many things that make an education special that are not covered by state funding or scholarships," Olinger says, as she provides rationale for seeking contributions. "Private giving is used for technology upgrades, out-of-classroom professional experiences for students, and resources for learning such as professional journals.

"As participation in the annual fund increases, so does our ability to accomplish even more," she adds. "Annual gifts help current and future generations of Ball State students, and alumni are sought because they are the closest to the institution."

One need only look to the nearest Ball State graduate with positive memories of the college experience to confirm that thought. Lori Wean, 1985 graduate, is an excellent example. "I had a very generous scholarship when I attended Ball State, so I was the recipient of someone else's beneficence," Wean says. Wean, who has been an active volunteer since she graduated, participated in a wide range of activities during her undergraduate years.

"I learned so much and grew as a person at Ball State through both my classroom experiences and the extra activities," Wean says. "Now, I contribute to give quality students the chance to experience what I did as a student."

"I complained about their behavior [university ROTC disbanding] when I didn't even know what Ball State was doing," he says. That prompted him to investigate Ball State's ROTC status.

McNamara, who received his master's degree from Ball State in 1994, visited with ROTC's Lieutenant Colonel Larry Trittipo, who assured him that the program is alive and well at Ball State. Armed with that knowledge, McNamara sought information on what he could do to contribute in some way to the program.

Sweatland and another cadet compiled a list of 65 books they identified as resources that would help underclassmen learn more about the thought process of leadership. They worked with the Ball State bookstore to order them.

For McNamara, contributing the funds was the easy part. "They were the ones with the dream," he says of the cadets who did all of the research. "It gave [my wife] Jeannine and me an opportunity to share a small part in these young people's ideas and dreams."

In April, the McNamara family came to campus to bring the library to fruition. Ken and Jeannine, along with Ken's mother, presented the books to Ball State. In each of the 65 books, the McNamara family placed a bookplate that memorializes McNamara's father, Stearns Clayton, who was a staff sergeant in the Army Air Corps in World War II. It was his father's leadership skills that McNamara believes helped him persevere during the war. And he hopes this library will help others. "If one of these books teaches one person one thing that saves one life, then it's worth it," McNamara says.

McNamara hopes that his gift will inspire other alumni. "I would hope there would be alumni who will say, ‘Maybe I'm not interested in the military, but I can find [a student in another discipline] with a dream,'" he says. "Every student has a dream and if we make just a small fraction of those come true, we've done something to improve the university."