University Times

The School of Social Work has become a leader when it comes to internal giving to the Pitt Annual Fund.

The percentage of donors in the school rose from 23.3 percent in fiscal year 2003 to 57 percent in FY 2004.

Last year the school posted a 78 percent participation rate, including 100 percent participation among the school’s Pittsburgh campus staff and faculty. The school also has some employees in Mechanicsburg.

In comparison, last year about one-third of faculty and staff members University-wide gave to the Annual Fund’s internal campaign.

At first glance, it might appear that staff members in a field such as social work might simply be more inclined to give, but Edward W. Sites, a professor in the school, said a dedicated core of faculty and staff volunteers set an example by donating personally and soliciting the support of their colleagues in the school.

“I can’t attribute our success to anything more than perseverance,” he said, noting that the school isn’t a hands-down leader in each and every fundraiser.

The most basic part of the equation is simple: It comes down to asking.

“People give to people because of who asks them and because they ask them in a forthright way,” Sites said.

“People will not give if they’re not asked.”

Asking must be done at the right time and in the right manner, he said.

Sites, one of five volunteers in the school who solicit support for the internal campaign, has taken on the task of garnering the Mechanicsburg employees’ support, which can be a bit of a tough sell. The geographic distance can interfere with a sense of connectedness with the rest of the University community.

He makes it his goal to build personal relationships with potential donors. That involves visiting and providing handouts to educate donors. And he says thank you.

“Every time someone makes a contribution, I sit down here in Pittsburgh and write them a personalized note,” he said.

“I talk about the contribution and what it can do.”

Timing the request also is important. Although the internal campaign kicks off in October, it runs through the end of the fiscal year in June.

Sites does his asking when he thinks it makes the most sense. For example, he made last year’s appeal in February, following the Mechanicsburg staff’s move into a new building. It made sense to wait until the move was completed, he said.

This year, he plans to delay his request as well. Budget cuts have forced layoffs in the Mechanicsburg program, leaving employees smarting over the downsizing.

“This is not the time to ask for money,” he said.

In addition to timing, asking in the right way is important as well.

“In our culture, we are private about money; we are embarrassed to ask about money or ask for money,” he said.

Overcoming that fear so one can ask directly often works.

“A lot of our University colleagues are afraid to ask. You must boldly and confidently make the case,” he said.

“It’s a message of trying to build a sense of ownership, of belonging, a sense of being part of something larger than our program,” he said.

—Kimberly K. Barlow