It appears that the Choose to Give campaign has started up again. Few things get my dander up like Choose to Give.Before I get fully to my rant, I should say that I'm sure that the Annual Fund goes to really good causes. I'm sure that the money that is raised every year goes to help my individual education. I'm sure it's done great things. Despite all of that, though, I'm sure that it rubs me the wrong way.
I don't respond well to being asked to "donate" money to BYU. Maybe I'm off base. Can I just pay my tuition instead? Is tuition so low that BYU students just have piles of cash lying around?
(breath)
Doesn't it seem a bit like having a blood drive in the in-patient ward of a hospital? Don't take their blood! They need what they've got - and often quite a bit more!
I'd suggest that they make it easier to target a donation. They do have an option where you can choose what school your money goes to (fine arts and communications, physical and mathematical sciences, etc.), but that doesn't help much - each school has lots of departments, and within those plenty of majors, and chances are good that your donation isn't going to go where you'd like it to go.
But, anyway, go donate, because I'm sure it's good. Pay your tuition. Be a Hero.
9 comments:
like a food drive in Somolia, or is that a little over the top?
They should rally the rich alumni for donations, not the poor students. I sure as heck can't afford to donate to BYU.
I'm already "donating" tuition, housing, meal plan, bike storage...
The purpose of the campaign is not to rob the poor. Alumni donations are shockingly low for the percentage of alumni that say they were satisfied with their BYU education. The purpose of the campaign is to teach students the importance of giving. That's why, under the direction of President Hinckley and other general authorities, the President's Leadership Council matches all student dontaions 5 to 1. They understand we're students who don't have a lot to give but they think learning to give and sacrifice for those around us when we have been given so much is a good thing. Have you looked at what tuition costs at other universities that are the same quatilty of BYU? I know that I personally can give up a few bucks by skipping going out to a movie or drinking water instead of soda for a day.
There are more places that you can give your money than just to your college. My favorite? The students giving to students scholarship. A student who received the scholarship a few semesters ago had to have emergency brain surgery and couldn't afford to stay in school. That's what I give my money to since I don't really trust the dean of my college.
I really do love you guys, I think you're awesome and usually agree with your opinions but this is one issue I am aparently a little passionate about. Are you really going to miss one dollar?
Kudos for an intelligent post. I think a lot of people don't have the guts to disagree with people. And go ahead and put your name next time... nobody's going to hunt you down. Are you affiliated with the program? Are you an administrator?
The 5-to-1 matching is something I really like. I've wished before that I could make a theoretical donation - i.e., I'll pretend to give $50 so that $250 gets donated by the matchers. Everybody wins, then.
I can tell you exactly where I'd want my money to go, though, given the option. My major is in Fine Arts and Communications, and though I'm sure I support all the programs under that umbrella, I'd be more interested in seeing my money going into the advertising program, or even specifically to the Ad Lab. If there was a box on the form for me to check to have my money go that specifically, I'd probably have thrown in a few bucks already.
It bothers me that there seems to be more emphasis on pep rallies and slogans to drive donations, rather than rational explanation of what happens when I donate. I like the idea of donating to a specific program rather than donating to the yellow fund, or the Be a Hero fund. If people donated for better reasons than just patting themselves on the back, then I'd imagine that donations would rise, and the fund would flourish.
-Roger
I figure that the people who are willing to match student donations 5:1 have a certain amount of money they're going to donate anyway. I doubt very much that they would donate $1.5 million if every student here donated $1000. So I figure I'll let them donate however much money they were planning on donating and I'll go ahead and keep my dollar.
And they certainly do rally rich alumni for donations. Boy do they ever. We aren't the only ones. That's the nature of going to a private university. The money has to come from somewhere...and it can't all come from the Church.
It feels so good to give…why not give a little? You’ll never regret giving more but someday you may regret these words when you realize how MUCH this university has given you. Much more than the .0001% they are asking you to give back.
Another thing: trust in the Board of Directors (First Prez) to know where to spend the money. They’re divinely tuned in and they’ll know better than we where the cash is needed. It’s fine that you want your $ to go to your school, but to withhold a donation because you’re not sure where and how it will be spent says something about those who spend it.
I am pretty sure that you understand all of this given your "before I get my rant on" statment, so forgive me for reminding you. I just think that if you're going to make a mistake, err on the giving side.
-Bro Tho
Yearly per student spending at BYU is somewhere between $20,000 - $30,000. Your tuition is subsidized by tithing paid by people who have no choice that their money is going to BYU.
I used to work asking alumni for donations. It is shocking at how greedy most alumni are, unwilling to even give a little bit back, when so many people spent A LOT of money to subsidize their education and give them a cheap, quality experience.
One of the main reasons for the Choose to Give campaign, is as previously mentioned, to teach students to be a little less selfish. Most students spend more money in a week on movies and eating out than what BYU is asking (I think there are very few people at BYU who couldn't afford to give at least $5 for the year).
But the main reason BYU asks students to donate is that students who donate to BYU are MUCH more likely to donate to BYU as alumni. The bottom line is, the students who say things like, "I have no money now, I'll give after I've graduated and am making more money," are almost always the same people who never donate as alumni. You are always going to have goods rationalizations for why you can't give.
In addition to helping the university and providing much needed funds, the percentage of alumni who donate is a major factor in college rankings. So when you don't donate (at least as an alumni), you're hurting the reputation of your alma mater (and hence yourself, since that is where your degree is from).
I agree with your rant. I graduated not very long ago, and EVERY month, I get a phone call asking for donations. I'm like, "HELLO?!? I just graduated!" I'm still paying off the student loans and therapy bills (jk) from the time I spent at BYU. For goodness sakes... give alumni a little time to get back on our feet before calling us monthly for money. My film degree was not the most lucrative.
Good heavens... you pay less than 2000 dollars per semester to attend one of the best, largest private universities in the United States. Hello people? Do you really think that a university this big runs on just 2000 dollars per student?
Quit your whining and donate some money to BYU. I mean... like the others said... 5:1 matching is a pretty darn good deal. They ARE rallying rich alumni for donations... who do you think does the matching?
Of all things to rant about: charitable giving to a university to assist others gain an education. Sheesh.
I love the shirts... but get over yourself.
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