Student philanthropy group has high hopes for future

Henry Heaton
News Reporter

Consisting of a group of student leaders, the Philanthropy Awareness Council (PAC) works to make current students aware of the role philanthropy plays in their education.

Samford itself is non-profit; therefore, gifts from alumni greatly impact tuition. Gifts make up 30 percent of the tuition ratio, and consist of contributions made through endowments, wills and the Samford Phonathon.

“We try to have students picture how much tuition could be. It could be 30 percent higher, so we want them to see what is made possible by gifts that tuition doesn’t cover,” Jared Martin, assistant director of annual giving said.

The members of PAC do not specifically solicit students; instead, they spread awareness so that when students are alumni, they will give back. Past PAC promotions include a co-sponsorship of the Connections 90’s Party and Philanthropy Fridays in Ben Brown Plaza. This Philanthropy Friday will be Homecoming related as PAC will hand out free branded footballs.

The group will also host their own tailgate on Saturday, with a TV to watch the football games and megaphones filled with popcorn.

Martin ultimately wants students to be aware that events and organizations like Connections, tailgating and Greek Life are made possible by philanthropy.

“Philanthropy is a word a lot of people just associate with their own Greek Life philanthropy, but they don’t think about giving back to their own school. This is something we want to change,” Martin said.

In the coming year PAC plans to spread awareness through Philanthropy Fridays, Philanthropy Difference Day and other events that are being planned.

Martin remains optimistic that PAC promotions will generate a large number of future donors.

“It’s tough to benchmark such an ambiguous awareness because you can’t just hit a numbers goal, you just have to have faith in the program now so when the students graduate, our alumni giving will be up,” Martin said.

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