Million-Dollar Challenge Boosts Campaign

January 8, 2011

With the First in America: Fulfilling Our Destiny campaign 98 percent of the way toward its $150-million goal, you might expect a slight drop-off in the college’s fundraising efforts. On the contrary, alumni and parents recently unveiled the largest fundraising initiative in Dickinson’s history—The Million-Dollar Challenge.

“You don’t want the campaign to fizzle at the end,” explains Rick Shangraw ’81, one of 13 challenge sponsors spanning six decades at Dickinson. “We need to continue to show support for the college and do it in a way that encourages others to show support, because our fundraising efforts need to keep rolling when we’re done with First in America. We want to keep the momentum going.”

To encourage others to show their support, the challenge sponsors have pledged to match every new and increased dollar given to the Annual Fund this year, up to $1 million. Accordingly, they note, the challenge gives everyone a chance to be part of a million-dollar gift to the college.

“Involvement comes on many levels,” says Kellie Newton ’81, challenge sponsor and college trustee. “Not everyone’s going to be able to say, ‘OK, here’s $100,000—thank you very much.’ But it’s not just about money. By making a gift of any size, you’re getting involved. You’re saying that when you came here as a student, it wasn’t just four years, and then you’re done. It’s a lifelong commitment. That’s what it means to be a Dickinsonian.”

If successful, The Million-Dollar Challenge will go a long way toward bringing in the $3 million needed to complete the campaign. Though that amount may seem small compared with the $147 million raised thus far, the sponsors stress that it will take the entire Dickinson community to complete First in America.

“The end of the campaign is always the toughest,” says Barbara James Kline ’57, P’81, P’86, a challenge sponsor who, with her husband Sidney ’54, is one of four generations of Dickinsonians. “This challenge is all about getting the college through that final stretch.”

Besides making sure the campaign sprints rather than limps across the finish line, The Million-Dollar Challenge offers alumni and parents who may not have participated a chance to join in the historic campaign.

“If you haven’t given before, now is the perfect time to do it because your gift will be matched, which means it will have even more impact,” says challenge sponsor and Dickinson trustee Ruth LaMantia Ferguson ’92. “That’s one of the reasons I like to support the college. You’re really able to see the impact of your gift. You can’t walk on campus without seeing a way that the campaign has enabled us to enhance the school.”

Because the sponsors span six different decades, the challenge also incorporates some competition, pitting Dickinsonians against one another to see which decade can make the most new and increased gifts this year. Yet no matter what year they graduated, the sponsors share similar reasons for getting involved with The Million-Dollar Challenge and hope that other alumni and parents will as well.

For some, the motivation comes from reflection.

“When I look back, I can say that my Dickinson experience truly transformed who I was as a person,” says Amy Nauiokas ’94, challenge sponsor and college trustee. “And I feel it’s my responsibility and all of our responsibility to make sure that generations after us can have the same experience.”

For others, it comes from looking forward.

“Looking toward the future, if we want to make sure that Dickinson continues to improve—that this positive trend of the last decade continues—then we all need to get involved,” says Mark I. Lehman ’71, challenge sponsor and college trustee. “And this challenge is a great way to do that.”

To learn more, watch a video about The Million Dollar Challenge. 

Sponsors to date for The Million-Dollar Challenge:

Thomas Mills ’47 +
Sidney D. Kline Jr. ’54, P’81, P’86 & Barbara James Kline ’57, P’81, P’86
Mark I. Lehman ’71 & Harriet Marcus Lehman ’72
Clark J. Chandler ’74, P’11 & Roberta O. Barnes Chandler P’11
Kellie L. Newton ’81
R. F. Shangraw Jr. ’81 & Mary S. Shangraw
R. Timothy Ferguson ’93 & Ruth LaMantia Ferguson ’92
Amy L. Nauiokas ’94