Asbury Seminary Alumni Exceed the Goal of 15% for 2015
By: Tammy Cessna, Director of Alumni and Church Relations, and Steve Wood, President of the Alumni Council and Senior Pastor
Last year at the 2014 Alumni Council Meeting in Bengaluru, India, the council leadership set a goal to get the percentage of Asbury Alumni who give to the seminary up to 15% for the year 2015. In the prior year the percentage of alumni who gave was at 13%; this meant a stretch of 2% for 2015. With appeals through the e-Link and phonathon, I am happy to report that we not only hit the 15%, but you exceeded it. We are currently are at 16.2%! I am often grateful for the loyalty I consistently see in our 10k+ alumni.
Steve Wood, President of the Alumni Council and senior pastor of Mt. Pisgah UMC in Georgia, states, “God is moving in so many wonderful ways at Asbury and you’re a big part of that! Thanks so much for helping us not just reach our goal of 15% of Alumni who engage missionally, but racing past that to 16.1%. What a wonderful testimony to our missional engagement to glorify God and share the Gospel! Let me encourage you; if you are not yet invested as an alumnus in sowing the seed of missional giving, then please get started and make a gift in the future today, knowing your gift will bear fruit in exponential ways. Thank you and may God be praised!”
The percentage of alumni who give is important to the seminary. This is a number that is often included in our proposals for grants. As a former grant writer for Asbury said, “A high percentage of alumni who give back to a school is a sign of institutional health that can help us win grants. So even if your gift is small, we leverage your gift with that of others and present a robust percentage to our funders. This high percentage is indeed priceless!”
Thank you for helping us reach this goal. Please keep it up fellow Asburians!