‘Community of champions’ surpasses fundraising goals by 42% and $950,000
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When you have a group of supporters you refer to as a “community of champions,” it’s no wonder when they exceed expectations and outpace predictions.
When the final tally was made on Virginia Commonwealth University’s Make It Real Campaign in 2020, the School of Social Work’s fundraising achievement was – what else? – an overachievement. Hoping to reach $2.25 million for the eight-year campaign, the school instead raised $3.2 million in gifts and commitments – exceeding the original benchmark by 42 percent.
Those figures speak to the loyalty and generosity of the school’s loyal and generous alumni and donors, that community of champions. Gifts of all sizes made the campaign a success – 20 gifts were $25,000 or more, and our social work graduates contributed 80 percent of the total with an average gift of $821.
Learn more about the success of our campaign.
New philanthropic goals
To keep that momentum going forward – to continue our legacy as a cornerstone of social work education, a committed community partner and a leader in producing the next generation of change agents – Dean Beth Angell, Ph.D., has identified three key philanthropic goals:
Annual Fund
Increasing access and affordability. The school’s goal is to double the scholarships available to students through gifts to the Annual Fund anda by establishing new donor scholarships. Support the Annual Fund.
Field Fund
Foster 21st-century learning experiences. A gift to our new Field Fund can ease the financial burden endured by the majority of students, whose unpaid internships are essential to their social work studies. Support the Field Fund.
Faculty Excellence Fund
Maximize national prominence through faculty success. Through this fund, our professors can apply for supplemental financial support to establish new and creative avenues of research and scholarship. Support the Faculty Excellence Fund.
Meet some of our champions
Donors and supporters from the Make It Real Campaign.
John Purnell (M.S.W.’64/SW; M.P.A.’78/GPA) and Joyce Beckett, Ph.D.
As a social work faculty member, Beckett made an immediate connection with student Rita Schlueter (M.S.W.’88/SW). When Schlueter passed away a decade later from brain cancer, Beckett and her husband, Purnell, endowed the Rita Schlueter Memorial Scholarship in Social Work.
The scholarship goes to an incoming freshman with a demonstrated knowledge of the African American culture and interest in pursuing a career in clinical social work. “(Rita’s daughter) was very pleased,” Joyce says. “Rita had real respect for African Americans and the need for African Americans in social work. That is what I was interested in carrying on.” Read more about the Joyce Beckett and John Purnell
Marilyn A. Biggerstaff, D.S.W
When Biggerstaff retired after 28 years on the school’s faculty, she still had work to do. Cognizant of student debt and her own graduate student experiences as a federal grant recipient, she established the Dr. Marilyn A. Biggerstaff Fund for Doctoral Student Research.
“My decision to establish the Ph.D. scholarship came from a desire to expand private sources of support for social work doctoral students. Increasing opportunities for a doctoral degree in social work is essential for the future of the profession.” Read more about Marilyn A. Biggerstaff.
Lynn Doss (B.S.W.’74/SW)
Arriving at VCU in 1971, Doss saw a campus full of activists and was eager to join in. “I was one of those people. I wanted to make a difference and help people who needed it,” he says.
After three decades as a social worker, mostly in social service agencies, he made an estate gift representing the second-largest donation ever to the school. “I don’t have any children, so I see VCU social work students as my children.” Read more about Lynn Doss.
Allison Gilbreath (B.S.’11/GPA; M.S.W.’16/SW)
Gilbreath discovered social work after initially considering law school. Now she is the policy and programs director at Voices for Virginia’s children. “I wanted to stand up for social justice, to give a voice to communities that don’t have a voice; that’s what macros social workers are trained to do.”
As a former student recipient, she contributes to the school’s Social Work Administration, Planning, and Policy Practice Scholarship. “When I graduated and had an income, I was just really grateful to have the opportunity to pay it forward and help another student.” Read more about Allison Gilbreath.