Development

Development Dispatch

By Joe Villinski
June 2006

Spirit of Notre Dame Dinner Auction Sparkles

The 15th Annual Spirit of Notre Dame Dinner Auction on April 8 continued to set records this year for money raised and sustained the new standards set a year ago when Notre Dame's 50th Anniversary celebration began. The final totals soared as the Notre Dame community generated over $200,000 alone through attendance, bidding, the Grand Raffle and the new Live Auction Raffle. Our 2006 sponsors raised an additional $180,000 as part of their commitment to supporting this year's Notre Dame events such as the Auction, Golf Outing and President's Dinner. Thanks to this great night, a Notre Dame education of the mind and heart will now be accessible to many more students. It was clear everyone in attendance and all who sponsored the event Caught the Spirit on this Night with the Stars. Special thanks to this year's auction co-chairs Merlyn Fruin, Cathy Cerone and Pat Tennant.

Sponsorships Meet Their Match

Notre Dame's sponsorship program flourished for another year, obtaining the support of 35 individuals and businesses and raising a total of $180,000 ($15,000 of that from in-kind gifts). Outright cash gifts were on a par with a year ago. The majority of new revenue came from longtime Notre Dame vendors who became first-time sponsors in 2006. Vendors such as Temperature Control Service, DaPrato Rigali Studios, Flannery Publishing and Softer Life Window together contributed $25,000. They were all attracted to a challenge gift made by a Notre Dame benefactor who agreed to match any new or increased sponsorship up to $25,000. Notre Dame sponsors more than met the match as more than $50,000 was committed in new or increased sponsorships from 19 of the 35 sponsors. In addition, many generously agreed to become sponsors again. Of the 35 sponsors, 23 were involved at some sponsorship level during 2005.

Events Director Honored by Archdiocese

We want to congratulate Director of Special Events Ann Mommsen for receiving this year's Impact Award from the Chicago Archdiocesan Development Council (ADC). Ann received the award at the council's end-of-the-year luncheon on May 3. In addition to honoring Ann for her many years as council treasurer, the ADC also cited the humble and graceful nature with which Ann approaches her service to Notre Dame. Presented in front of her peers, representatives of schools throughout the Archdiocese, the Office of Catholic Schools and the leadership of the Archdiocesan Development Council, her recognition was a proud moment for Notre Dame.

Phonathon Dials It Up a Notch

The student-driven Phonathon saw unprecedented success during its first week in March, breaking last year's records with a total of $7,750 pledged. For the two weeks, $16,766 was pledged vs. $11,060 in 2005. Average gift was $67.88 vs. $59.46 in 2005. Number of participants was also up (244 vs. 184 in 2005). Thank you to all for your generosity to Notre Dame Phonathon 2006! The student callers had a wonderful time talking with many alumni about Notre Dame's storied past. We were proud of them, as they were great representatives for the school in sharing their Notre Dame experience with the people they contacted.

Annual Fund Reaches New Heights

With 10.5 months reported, the Notre Dame Annual Fund has raised $267,984 for fiscal year '06 (July 1, 2005-June 30, 2006). This represents a $50,682 (23%) increase over last year's total of $217,302 which set a record as the 50th Anniversary celebration commenced. The significance of this number confirms the ongoing generosity of the alumni, alumni parents, current parents and friends of Notre Dame High School. Thank you to all who made a gift to the Annual Fund this year in the name of a Holy Cross religious or lay teacher who dedicated their lives to educating the minds and hearts of the Dons of Notre Dame.

Parent Fund Grows in Second Year

With 10.5 months reported, the Parent Fund, a subset of the Notre Dame Annual Fund which will complete its second year of existence in June, has raised $26,302 for the fiscal year '06, an increase of over $6,000 from last year's total. More importantly, 27% of our parents participated in this year's fundraising program vs. 20% last year. This year the monies raised will assist in purchasing laptops for faculty use as well as funding new projects for Notre Dame's new Christian Service Program.

Alumni Participation on the Rise

For many years, the percentage of alumni participating in the fundraising for Notre Dame had not exceeded 7%. Four years ago, when Fr. Mike DeLaney, CSC became President of Notre Dame High School alumni participation was at 6.5%, measuring classes from 1958 to 1987. For the fiscal year ending June 30, alumni participation for those same classes to date has exceeded the 10% mark, having reached 10.2%. This is attributable to a number of reasons:

Increased efforts by Fr. DeLaney to invite Alumni to participate in the strategic planning process for Notre Dame
A wildly successful 50th Anniversary celebration that allowed many alumni to re-connect
Efforts on the part of the Alumni Office and its Director, A.J. Kozole to reach out to the alumni
Increased personal contact via a prototype program called ND United to have alumni contact fellow alumni

New Scholarships Announced

Notre Dame would like to especially like to thank the following for the generous scholarship gift to the young men of NDHS:

Mr. James O' Connor '66 (The James B. O'Connor Scholarship);
Mr. Tommie Harris (The Tommie Harris Scholarship) - Tommie Harris, the Chicago Bears first-round draft pick of two years ago, announced at the Minority Relations Forum in March that he was interested in establishing a scholarship to afford minority students a better chance of attending NDHS. Two incoming African-American students and their families received the half-tuition award from Fr. Mike and the Bears' starting defensive tackle on May 9. If the freshmen maintain their grades, they will be eligible to receive the award throughout their next three years at NDHS.