Forever Valpo Fundraising Campaign

[Valpo2010]

Would Valpo accept donations associated with other Lutheran groups?

Yes, and they have.  If memory serves correctly, the ELCA Pastor position at the Chapel was funded by a gift that specifically stated that the position funded by the gift would have to be a female, ELCA minister.

[vu72]

New gift announced with a statement at the bottom saying it's the campaign is now over 260 million

https://www.valpo.edu/forevervalpo/2016/09/23/valparaiso-university-receives-commitment-for-lcms-pastoral-ministry-and-chapel-programs/

Great to gain a further donation, but this seems a bit at odds with the statement below regarding faith (as part of student life) at the university. LCMS is not independent. Would Valpo accept donations associated with other Lutheran groups?

Quote from Valpo website (regarding student life):
Your spiritual journey will be encouraged and strengthened no matter your path. As an independent Lutheran institution, faith is in our nature. Whatever your tradition, you will find a caring community that will support you in your spiritual life.               

Of course.  We are independent of LCMS or ELCA or Wisconsin.  It isn't that LCMS is independent of us.  We get zero financial support from any of them other than an independent congregation deciding to make a donation. This is way more independent than, say, Concordia Chicago (a LCMC school) or Augustana ) ELCA school)

As you probably know, Valpo has pastors from both LCMS and ELCA on staff. That wouldn't be acceptable any any Lutheran college that wasn't independent.

[crusader05]

The way I read it is that there is already an endowment that supports the pay of the ELCA Pastor and this endowment will support the pay of the LCMS pastor as well as any other chapel programs. The way I understand the "independent" part is not that they don't acknowledge the different synods, they clearly do as they have a pastor from each, but that they exist together within the chapel and the university as a whole is not specifically aligned with one synod.

[vu84v2]

vu72 and crusader05 - Thanks for the responses. That all makes perfect sense.

[Valpo2010]

Updated total posted today: $261,138,445

[valpo64]

How about anything above $250,000,000 going to ARC renovation.   

[vu84v2]

How about anything over $250M going to making up lost revenues and covering costs associated with the pandemic?

[vu72]

Again, please remember that the VAST amount of these dedicated funds will come into use in the, in some cases, distant future.  I would think that some, and perhaps a great deal, may come sooner however given the age of certain very wealthy alumni.

When you contribute to the Crusader Fund however, that money is counted and obviously available immediately.

[vu72]

Updated total posted today: $261,138,445

Pace is definitely slowing.  New total posted at $261,771,778 adding $633,333

[crusadermoe]

It lasts forever.  Ten years and counting now.   They counted the 2011 chapel gift.

[vu72]

New total, $8.5 million increase which is amazing at this point in the drive.  Presume that include the $1 million raised on the Day of Giving.  New Total= $269,613,440!!

[vu72]

The pace of growth is creeping to a halt.  A gain of a bout 1 million in about two months, still a remarkable total, now at $270,614,691. I looked back to see when this all started.  It was launched September 23, 2016 so 58 months ago.  It was launched with $135,628,640 pledged  go a growth of $2,327,346 per month since then!!

I wonder when it will end?  At the 5 year mark in two months?  It seems the drive is pretty much out of gas so perhaps time to stop--officially, so that a needed break occurs prior to starting the next drive.  Let's hope some of that money shows up soon! (with no ill intent for people whose pledge is tied to their demise!)

[bbtds]

The pace of growth is creeping to a halt.  A gain of a bout 1 million in about two months, still a remarkable total, now at $270,614,691. I looked back to see when this all started.  It was launched September 23, 2016 so 58 months ago.  It was launched with $135,628,640 pledged  go a growth of $2,327,346 per month since then!!

I wonder when it will end?  At the 5 year mark in two months?  It seems the drive is pretty much out of gas so perhaps time to stop--officially, so that a needed break occurs prior to starting the next drive.  Let's hope some of that money shows up soon! (with no ill intent for people whose pledge is tied to their demise!)

Are you trying to tell rich Valpo grads not to watch the movie "Die Hard?"   

[crusadermoe]

The big number "arms race" campaign counting method is going to get sticky for most colleges when budgets are straining.   

Some Valpo parents or staff or alumni might perceive the big "Forever" numbers as cash flowing in to rescue or offset tuition. The flagships and elites get away with the big brag campaign strategy with a billion in the goal because they will always attract a waiting list of students. it's for bragging rights and no one gets miffed.

But the fuzzy math of campaigning could get touchy at the other schools and plays with fire a bit.  Adding up a $270 million total Forever number over 10 years of campaigning is pretty pointless when you are dealing with apples and oranges.  How is there really much relevance in adding up four highly different items: cash in, construction giving, saved endowment, and promises of future estate gifts at date unknown? 

[Valpo2010]

New total posted:  $274,966,853

[crusadermoe]

Yeah!   The amount distributed to the budget over 10 years has been......?

[vu72]

Yeah!   The amount distributed to the budget over 10 years has been......?

Hard to say.  The last number in the bank was 254 million. Typically an organization will draw 5% so that would be about 13 million.  Obviously, 10 years ago the number wasn't that big so I would guess somewhere around 85 million.  If and when we actually get the new 274 million and bring the total up to over 500 million, then the number can really have an impact.

[crusadermoe]

I think the campaign total and the banked endowment are two different things.  But the numbers are coincidentally pretty similar. 

Either way it will be interesting to hear how deeply Valpo had to discount the tuitions for the students who enrolled this fall.  And the new student number naturally has to net against the the departing transfers and seniors. Hopefully, their "discount rate" decreased somewhat.  Net tuition is the relevant financial point for the board and for Moody's ratings etc.

[David81]

Yeah!   The amount distributed to the budget over 10 years has been......?

Hard to say.  The last number in the bank was 254 million. Typically an organization will draw 5% so that would be about 13 million.  Obviously, 10 years ago the number wasn't that big so I would guess somewhere around 85 million.  If and when we actually get the new 274 million and bring the total up to over 500 million, then the number can really have an impact.

The Forever Valpo money will actually arrive in big and little clumps over the next couple of decades, so there may never be a point where it feels like the school is $274m richer.

My very modest scholarship created as part of the campaign, for example, is a combination of annual gifts + a bequest. Unless I can dramatically increase my monthly giving, the scholarship likely won't go "live" until my bequest is received, because there won't be enough principal in the fund from which to draw a sufficient %.

The delayed cash benefit is the standard nature of these big capital campaigns, and it illustrates the costs of VU's somewhat later entry into the world of bigger league fundraising. That's why old money -- defined here as endowment contributions made decades ago and allowed to grow -- is always best. Playing catch-up ball is much harder.

It may be just my hazier memory, but I cannot recall a lot of news about fundraising campaigns coming out of VU when I was an undergrad (1977-81), and as someone very active in both the Torch and student government, we were paying attention to such things. Both Presidents Harre and Heckler deserve credit for bringing VU into the more modern era of university fundraising.

[vu72]

It may be just my hazier memory, but I cannot recall a lot of news about fundraising campaigns coming out of VU when I was an undergrad (1977-81), and as someone very active in both the Torch and student government, we were paying attention to such things. Both Presidents Harre and Heckler deserve credit for bringing VU into the more modern era of university fundraising.

I tried to dig up some old numbers and the furthest back I could find was 2011 when the endowment was at $163 million. So about 100 million growth over 10 years.  I recall Alan Harre telling me that OP didn't believe strongly in endowment so it's been an uphill battle since he retired in 1968. In fact Albert Huegli's bio, (Huegli succeed OP and was President from 1968-1978) says that he grew the endowment from $1.7 million  to $10 million when he retired.  Wow! We have come a LONG way!

[bbtds]

It may be just my hazier memory, but I cannot recall a lot of news about fundraising campaigns coming out of VU when I was an undergrad (1977-81), and as someone very active in both the Torch and student government, we were paying attention to such things. Both Presidents Harre and Heckler deserve credit for bringing VU into the more modern era of university fundraising.

I tried to dig up some old numbers and the furthest back I could find was 2011 when the endowment was at $163 million. So about 100 million growth over 10 years.  I recall Alan Harre telling me that OP didn't believe strongly in endowment so it's been an uphill battle since he retired in 1968. In fact Albert Huegli's bio, (Huegli succeed OP and was President from 1968-1978) says that he grew the endowment from $1.7 million  to $10 million when he retired.  Wow! We have come a LONG way!

Interesting. I remember going to the Kretzmann home with my relative and wondering what O.P. and my relative were talking about. I was 9 years old and didn't have any real interest but they were engaged in a very animated conversation. I wonder now if it was about endowments. O.P. died in 1975 and I was 13 years old and thinking "Thank God, I didn't have to go to that funeral because it meant sitting through another service."

The Rev. Otto Paul Kretzmann began his productive 28-year presidency of Valparaiso University in 1940, his inspiring inaugural address setting the tone for years to come. During his administration a new campus was developed, enrollment grew from 400 to 4,000, and the University became nationally recognized.

Before coming to Valpo, O.P., as he was affectionately known, had been executive secretary of the international Lutheran youth organization, the Walther League, for six years. Prior to that, he had served for ten years on the faculty of Concordia Seminary, Springfield, Illinois.

A 1920 graduate of Concordia Collegiate Institute, Bronxville, New York, he received the Master of Sacred Theology degree in 1924 from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and pursued further graduate study at Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and Chicago Universities. He was the recipient of ten honorary doctorates. He died on Holy Cross Day, September 14, 1975, in his 75th year.

[crusadermoe]

 Actually there was a campaign under Schnabel to build the current ARC sometime between 1980 and 1985.  While it's high school-ish, it was a big upgrade in seating size and added the indoor track. They brought in Notre Dame to play the dedicatory game.  Was that cost $6 or $7 million or so?  Does anyone know?

[78crusader]

It was a $28 million campaign entitled "Forward to the 80's." I know because I attended a dinner in 1980 here in Iowa featuring President Schnabel. The centerpiece of the campaign was the ARC, which I believe wound up costing a bit over $7 million.

This campaign was a big stretch for VU since as late as 1967 VU had no endowment. None. That began to change with President Huegli. In 1976 VU received its first $1 million gift. Huegli stepped down in '78 and Schnabel was brought in (my uncle made the final cut but was not selected).

The campaign was a big success and I think they raised around $60 million.

Funny story about President Kretzmann. He was asked if it was right for VU to accept government GI Bill money so that WWII vets could come here. He was asked if this money was "tainted." His reply? "It's tainted, all right - 'taint enough."

Paul

[bbtds]

Here's why you will not hear or see much of O.P. Kretzsmann on tape or video.

June 1967 (Vol XXX, No. 8, p 28)

"The Tapes Show"

O. P. Kretzmann

For several years now I have been watching, with weary distaste, a comparatively new development in the history of the Church Militant — the insistence on having a tape recorder on hand for every gathering of brethren who have come together to discuss the problems of the Church. Apparently this innovation is based on a passage of non-canonical Scripture: "Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, a tape recorder must be in the midst of them" (I Beelzebub 13:13). I have given the matter much careful thought. (Please hold that question about whether college administrators can think; I intend to take that up in a later column.) Apparently this mania for tape-recording is either a form of sadism or a heretical emphasis on perfectionism. Under the reading of perfectionism the demand for a tape recorder seems to be based on the idea that everything that is said in the heat of a debate or the relaxed atmosphere of a discussion is complete, final, and perfect and that it must therefore be preserved for posterity.

Seen as sadism, the tape recorder syndrome is, of course, the idea that a man can be haunted and persecuted from now until eternity by an unhappy phrase, an incomplete statement, or a mere lapse of the tongue. "This is what the man said in 1950!" the tape recorder disciples cry, "and now we can throw it into his teeth, shout it from the housetops, and publish it verbatim in our magazines. He said it, he can't deny it, and we'll plague him with it until he totters into his grave — and maybe even beyond that." One can almost see a new vision of the Dies Irae with the Judge upon his throne, listening to tape recorders smuggled past the gate of death by those who, in this life, thought they did Him service by playing the part of accuser of their brethren.

Whatever the theology and psychology of the tape recorder idea may be, it is easy to forget that as an instrument for capturing and preserving truth it is singularly inadequate and weak. Have you ever seen a transcription of one of your lectures or sermons taken from a tape recorder? It is a shattering experience. Did I really leave all of those sentences incomplete? Am I really so illiterate, particularly in the wrong places — "a" when I thought I had said "the," a solemn-appearing sentence which I had uttered in a sarcastic tone of Voice, syntax scrambled like a plate of spaghetti, the ascription of a saying to Isaiah when I know well enough it is from Amos, "uhs" and "ahs" all over the place? Is this what my audience really heard? The answer is clear. On one level this is precisely what they heard. On another and far more important level this has no relation at all to what they heard. For they heard a man, not a machine. They saw his gestures, the changing expressions of his face. They knew his mood.

The tape recorder can faithfully reproduce words. It can not reproduce the milieu in which the words were spoken. But surely the milieu is just as important as the words themselves. And so, after long study, I have re solved never to expose myself to a situation in which three of us are gathered together — the brother, I, and the tape recorder. I may be old-fashioned, but I prefer that the third presence be that of our Lord — the Lord of forgiveness and mercy — who has known for thou sands of years how weak and inarticulate we are when we try, as we must, to pour His thoughts into the shallow molds of our poor human words.

By the way, all of what I have been saying about the inadequacies of the tape-recorder applies to those who are constantly throwing Luther's Tischreden at us. Veit Dietrich, the faithful (but, one suspects, rather dull) scribe was the sixteenth-century counterpart of our tape recorders. Aside from the hazards noted in the paragraphs above, how would you like to be quoted, word by endless word, on something you said after a heavy dinner, with perhaps two or three glasses of good German beer under your belt, and in the company of your best friends who, in your opinion, could do with an occasional shock to blast them out of their academic rut? Luther had a brilliant, provocative, dancing mind and it would appear that good conversation was one of his favorite forms of recreation. And if one credits him with the puckish sense of humor that one keeps running into in even his serious writings, one can imagine how he must have enjoyed baiting the solemn Philip, the serious theologians, and the slavish note taker, Dietrich. I can imagine Blessed Martin slipping into his nightshirt after a session with the boys and almost choking with laughter as he recounted to Katie how he had shocked poor Philip with some outrageous observation on the validity of humanistic study and Katie answering, "Really, Martin, you have got to quit teasing poor Philip like that. He's so frail, you know." But I am sure that the very remark that Blessed Martin considered his joke of the evening has been dealt with at length in a monograph by some German theologian, probably under some such title as Luthers Ansichten ueber den Humanismus, Dargestellt Anhand einer Bemerkung zu Melanchthon in den Tisch reden.

[covufan]

Actually there was a campaign under Schnabel to build the current ARC sometime between 1980 and 1985.  While it's high school-ish, it was a big upgrade in seating size and added the indoor track. They brought in Notre Dame to play the dedicatory game.  Was that cost $6 or $7 million or so?  Does anyone know?

I seem to recall a price tag of $3.1M to $3.5M


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