barron's vision for Penn State's next fundraising campaign

[BobPSU92]

See the link. The theme has not yet been decided, but the fundraising campaign is planned to start in the summer of 2016 and last six years.

http://news.psu.edu/story/370726/20...ign-push-penn-state’s-global-impact-strategic

What barron is probably thinking: "Give early and often, suckheads. And f*ck you."

 

[Aoshiro]

The university stabbed its best fundraiser in the back. Good luck.

 

[Victor E. Bell]

Here was the punch line:

“Penn State is so very fortunate to have a dynamic board of trustees whose members have taken on a critical leadership role in each campaign, in addition to their roles as leaders of the University,” Barron said. “Current and former students, faculty and staff are better positioned to make a significant impact in the world as a direct result of the board’s leadership. Our trustees have made an indelible and positive mark on Penn State’s long-term health.”

 

[Keyser Soze 16801]

My spouse and I have no kids and planned to leave everything to PSU prior to 2011. Instead, PSU will get zilch.

 

[BobPSU92]

Here was the punch line:

“Penn State is so very fortunate to have a dynamic board of trustees whose members have taken on a critical leadership role in each campaign, in addition to their roles as leaders of the University,” Barron said. “Current and former students, faculty and staff are better positioned to make a significant impact in the world as a direct result of the board’s leadership. Our trustees have made an indelible and positive mark on Penn State’s long-term health.”

 

[Aoshiro]

My spouse and I have no kids and planned to leave everything to PSU prior to 2011. Instead, PSU will get zilch.

Same here.

 

[JoeDidntKnow]

They will not get a cent from us until they have Honored Joe the right way with no caveats or exceptions.

 

[OldTiredLion]

I have given a hell of a lot of money to Penn State through the years. Now I donate only enough to retain my seats for football and NOTHING more. I've made known my displeasure with the current regime of corrupt cowards who've taken control of the BoT and will NOT be writing any more checks to further their stranglehold over this university. If they all resign en masse and take along all their self-appointed sycophants, leaving only the alumni elected trustees to decide our future, at that time and only at that time will the coffers get any more contributions from me.

 

[NittPicker]

The university stabbed its best fundraiser in the back. Good luck.

Amen. The egos of some BoT members make it impossible for them to understand very few people donate to the university because of them. Joe and Sue were the people many donors felt comfortable with and the Paternos were able to close the deal on many contributions. I never met Joe but there are many stories of his uncanny ability to work a room and remember names. I doubt any of the stiffs on the BoT have those kinds of interpersonal skills.

 

[Fox Chapel Lion II]

Amen. The egos of some BoT members make it impossible for them to understand very few people donate to the university because of them. Joe and Sue were the people many donors felt comfortable with and the Paternos were able to close the deal on many contributions. I never met Joe but there are many stories of his uncanny ability to work a room and remember names. I doubt any of the stiffs on the BoT have those kinds of interpersonal skills.

You don't think Aunt Karen has the personal touch with prospective donors?

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

I say this in all honesty. I have a niece who, my wife and I, were responsible for in the unfortunate event of the death of both parents. When she turned 18, we had to revise our Trust. Simply put, we wrote PSU out of their 50% of my (meager) estate. This is FACT!

 

[JoeBatters1]

**** Barron and PSU.

 

[Fayette_LION]

See the link. The theme has not yet been decided, but the fundraising campaign is planned to start in the summer of 2016 and last six years.

http://news.psu.edu/story/370726/20...ign-push-penn-state’s-global-impact-strategic

What barron is probably thinking: "Give early and often, suckheads. And f*ck you."

You heard it here first....when this fizzles in early 2017, they'll honor the Paternos and ask for everyone to get back in the fold. They are idiots but they aren't financial fools.

 

[fairgambit]

I think it's fair to say that most people who have stopped, or reduced, their contributions, still love Penn State. They just cannot tolerate its leadership. Those arrogant bastards refuse to make any meaningful effort to heal the divisions, or to honor the most important man in Penn State history. On the contrary, they continue to open old wounds and advance an "anti-Paterno" agenda which has been soundly rejected by tens of thousands of loyal alums. Their apologists will dismiss those who have decided to stop their donations, arguing that the amount of their giving is a drop in the bucket and has no meaning outside of its limited protest value. In doing so, they miss the larger point. Penn State needs all her sons and daughters. It is their numbers and their loyalty that make Penn State the world class institution it has become. Casting them aside, as they did Joe Paterno, diminishes Penn State and limits its influence. Sadly, they just don't give a damn.

 

[wensilver]

When Louis Freeh peels off a few million to start "the ball rolling" on "advantaging" this campaign, from what these bastards paid him to scorch the greater Penn State community, then perhaps I'll open up my checkbook.


Until then, F-U.

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

Wen - I clicked "Like", because "Love" wasn't an option!

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

You heard it here first....when this fizzles in early 2017, they'll honor the Paternos and ask for everyone to get back in the fold. They are idiots but they aren't financial fools.

You very well may be right but, by that time, the damage will be done and it will be seen for the desperate move that it is. Of course, legal proceedings and criminal investigations may dictate a different course of events!

 

[PennSt8er]

My money is better spent elsewhere. Penn State shit the bed when it needed real leaders most. No more $$ from my wallet.

 

[Victor E. Bell]

You heard it here first....when this fizzles in early 2017, they'll honor the Paternos and ask for everyone to get back in the fold. They are idiots but they aren't financial fools.

With each passing year, more people leave PSU with a degree and fewer and fewer have perspective as to what went on. I disagree that anything will fizzle. PSU grads will be lining up to give money to Penn State, as they always have. This campaign will be a success. If it falls short it will still be painted as a roaring success. Nobody is going to be asking anyone to get back in the fold. You just had the chairman of the board of trustees mocking at least half of the alumni on social media. People like Masser and others make it impossible for me to support PSU anymore but that doesn't mean others won't. It's people like me who were the problem in the first place, according to Freeh and Frazier. They don't give a flyin fish who stays or goes.

Look at the money. Look at the buildings going up on campus. Look at the new student high rises and new student housing construction going up all over the place and more being planned. They are not building all that stuff to be stuck with empty properties. Enrollment is skyrocketing. The place prints money. They start a big capital campaign and people will be tripping over themselves to fund it.

 

[Peetz Pool Boy]

They will not get a cent from us until they have Honored Joe the right way with no caveats or exceptions.

Even then, one of our alma maters isn't getting diddly. An artificial/contrived semi-apology singularly extended to extract $$$$ out of alumni makes it even that more pathetic.

We have other, more deserving, organizations to which we will direct our charity.

 

[fairgambit]

With each passing year, more people leave PSU with a degree and fewer and fewer have perspective as to what went on. I disagree that anything will fizzle. PSU grads will be lining up to give money to Penn State, as they always have. This campaign will be a success. If it falls short it will still be painted as a roaring success. Nobody is going to be asking anyone to get back in the fold. You just had the chairman of the board of trustees mocking at least half of the alumni on social media. People like Masser and others make it impossible for me to support PSU anymore but that doesn't mean others won't. It's people like me who were the problem in the first place, according to Freeh and Frazier. They don't give a flyin fish who stays or goes.

Look at the money. Look at the buildings going up on campus. Look at the new student high rises and new student housing construction going up all over the place and more being planned. They are not building all that stuff to be stuck with empty properties. Enrollment is skyrocketing. The place prints money. They start a big capital campaign and people will be tripping over themselves to fund it.

You're likely right. The campaign will be a success. So be it. Whatever Penn State will become, it could have been even more with unifiers in charge. It would not have taken much to reach out and bridge the gap, but would have taken leadership and that is in very short supply around here.

 

[91Joe95]

The title of Barron's next fundraising campaign:

Help Pay Off the Lawsuits and Other BOT ****ups

 

[Victor E. Bell]

You're likely right. The campaign will be a success. So be it. Whatever Penn State will become, it could have been even more with unifiers in charge. It would not have taken much to reach out and bridge the gap, but would have taken leadership and that is in very short supply around here.

Couldn't agree more but from their standpoint if you can survive without capitulating, all the better. "This is business, not personal, Sonny." That's how I had to start looking at it from their perspective. It's all money to them. It's not memories of nice fall days on campus and happy hour at the Skeller. It's all dollars and Penn State must have an astonishing amount of money in the war chest. It's impossible to faze them with money. $60 mil fine? No problem. $100 mil in settlements? What does this tell you? Is anything shutting down or do you see corners being cut? I think Penn State has more money than the US Treasury. And when they ask for more they get it. Why would they bridge a gap to people they don't want around anyway?

 

[kgilbert78]

Had a call tonight from a very nice student about donating to PSU. She noted that she'd heard a lot of folks with my sentiment--no money to PSU. Mind you, I was very polite and encourages her in her career and studies. But No means No. She said she would make a note of it and pass it on.

 

[91Joe95]

Couldn't agree more but from their standpoint if you can survive without capitulating, all the better. "This is business, not personal, Sonny." That's how I had to start looking at it from their perspective. It's all money to them. It's not memories of nice fall days on campus and happy hour at the Skeller. It's all dollars and Penn State must have an astonishing amount of money in the war chest. It's impossible to faze them with money. $60 mil fine? No problem. $100 mil in settlements? What does this tell you? Is anything shutting down or do you see corners being cut? I think Penn State has more money than the US Treasury. And when they ask for more they get it. Why would they bridge a gap to people they don't want around anyway?

They have a huge war chest, and we all know why. That said, donations started tanking after their f'ups, and they know it. They suddenly stopped breaking down the areas of giving, and did everything they could to not acknowledge STEP and Pegula's hockey gift were bolstering all the numbers. It would have been so easy in this campaign to ask people what Joe would have done, and they won't even be able to do that. No, this campaign may officially look good on paper, but its all going to be STEP driven, with a whole lot of missed opportunities never reported.

 

[Peetz Pool Boy]

With each passing year, more people leave PSU with a degree and fewer and fewer have perspective as to what went on. I disagree that anything will fizzle. PSU grads will be lining up to give money to Penn State, as they always have. This campaign will be a success. If it falls short it will still be painted as a roaring success. Nobody is going to be asking anyone to get back in the fold. You just had the chairman of the board of trustees mocking at least half of the alumni on social media. People like Masser and others make it impossible for me to support PSU anymore but that doesn't mean others won't. It's people like me who were the problem in the first place, according to Freeh and Frazier. They don't give a flyin fish who stays or goes.

Look at the money. Look at the buildings going up on campus. Look at the new student high rises and new student housing construction going up all over the place and more being planned. They are not building all that stuff to be stuck with empty properties. Enrollment is skyrocketing. The place prints money. They start a big capital campaign and people will be tripping over themselves to fund it.

You are correct about the "spin", but demographics are really working against the "Paterno-stabbers".

These PSU administrative pinheads naively operate under the assumption that we're all stupid What they're forgetting is that the individuals most eligible (not necessarily interested) in giving a chunk of their net worth to PSU ...knew...adored...even loved...Joe Paterno. They all were of similar age and grew, even agonized, over the slow gradual growth and eventual success Joe and Sue envisaged when they decided to stay in State College many years ago.

Sure there are some State College insiders who will give some token, multi- year donations that seem like a lot (but aren't), but a sobering reality is about to slap these PSU Administrative pinheads upside the head.

A 6 year campaign? Really?

You do know that Joe (the deceased guy that you despise) raised 4 years worth of money in 13 months, don't you? By alienating the Paterno's, you've successfully alienated the best, most proficient fund-raising asset you HAD.

I fully expect this reality to be lost on you pinheads.

 

[Peetz Pool Boy]

Couldn't agree more but from their standpoint if you can survive without capitulating, all the better. "This is business, not personal, Sonny." That's how I had to start looking at it from their perspective. It's all money to them. It's not memories of nice fall days on campus and happy hour at the Skeller. It's all dollars and Penn State must have an astonishing amount of money in the war chest. It's impossible to faze them with money. $60 mil fine? No problem. $100 mil in settlements? What does this tell you? Is anything shutting down or do you see corners being cut? I think Penn State has more money than the US Treasury. And when they ask for more they get it. Why would they bridge a gap to people they don't want around anyway?

The six year fundraising window is interesting. Me thinks the BOT's CPA told them that...at their current spending projections....their " reserve" was going to deplete faster than expected without "additional sources of revenue"

So, what the brain trust came up with was...

1. A six (6) year extortion campaign. (Folks, it's time to put PSU on the "do not call list")

2. Identifying and Jacking every source of fee-related revenue.

But, it's all for the students.

 

[dwiz]

Here was the punch line:

“Penn State is so very fortunate to have a dynamic board of trustees whose members have taken on a critical leadership role in each campaign, in addition to their roles as leaders of the University,” Barron said. “Current and former students, faculty and staff are better positioned to make a significant impact in the world as a direct result of the board’s leadership. Our trustees have made an indelible and positive mark on Penn State’s long-term health.”

Even my 78 year old father laughed at that. They aren't fooling anyone with this shit.

 

[Victor E. Bell]

Even my 78 year old father laughed at that. They aren't fooling anyone with this shit.

Yeah, as a former student I can pretty much assure the good Doctor that my relative ability to make an impact in the world, significant or not, has exactly zero to do with any Penn State trustee. He can't really believe his own spew. Right? Can he?

 

[PennState1997]

6 years? Ha ha Baron. Good riddance.

 

[bjf1984]

See the link. The theme has not yet been decided, but the fundraising campaign is planned to start in the summer of 2016 and last six years.

http://news.psu.edu/story/370726/20...ign-push-penn-state’s-global-impact-strategic

What barron is probably thinking: "Give early and often, suckheads. And f*ck you."

I am somewhat hesitant to say this.....because - I believe - most people "give" with absolutely the best of INTENTIONS.

However, the truth is, anyone who gives a dime to this University - so long as it is controlled by this cabal of Scoundrels - is an idiot. It would make no more or less sense to simply take the cash out of your wallet, and hand it over for the personal use of scumbags like Dambly, Lubert, Dandrea, Masser and that whole gang of c&cks&ckers.

Its analogous to handing over a baggie of rocks to some jones-ing crackhead. It may be done with good intentions and a good heart - out of sympathy for the jones-ing junkie......but in the end it only does more harm.

There, I said it. The money would be put to better use if one were to simply burn it.



In this whole sordid mess there is ONE THING that "us" - the nameless, faceless unwashed masses - could do that would have a positive impact (if we all joined together), it is this:

STOP GIVING.

- Stop giving even a dime

- Stop giving our children (and their tuition dollars)

- Stop giving ANYTHING.......not because we don't want to give to Penn State.....but, rather, because NOT giving may be the only way (certainly, one of the best ways) we can make a difference in the fight to FREE Penn State from the clutches of these evil c&cks&cking Scoundrels.

And THAT....my friends....is the greatest gift we could ever GIVE to Penn State.

 

[Aoshiro]

With each passing year, more people leave PSU with a degree and fewer and fewer have perspective as to what went on. I disagree that anything will fizzle. PSU grads will be lining up to give money to Penn State, as they always have. This campaign will be a success. If it falls short it will still be painted as a roaring success. Nobody is going to be asking anyone to get back in the fold. You just had the chairman of the board of trustees mocking at least half of the alumni on social media. People like Masser and others make it impossible for me to support PSU anymore but that doesn't mean others won't. It's people like me who were the problem in the first place, according to Freeh and Frazier. They don't give a flyin fish who stays or goes.

Look at the money. Look at the buildings going up on campus. Look at the new student high rises and new student housing construction going up all over the place and more being planned. They are not building all that stuff to be stuck with empty properties. Enrollment is skyrocketing. The place prints money. They start a big capital campaign and people will be tripping over themselves to fund it.

I agree with a lot of the things you write but you are dead wrong about this.

The people who are graduating from Penn State in 2016 won't be in a position to make substantial gifts to the university for many years - certainly longer than the six years of this capital campaign. They are graduating with an obscene amount of debt that will take even those in lucrative professions a few years to pay off. Then they will buy houses. Then they will raise kids. Giving a big chunk of money to Penn State is decades away for the post-Paterno graduates.

Penn State fundraising doesn't focus on alums in their 20s or even 30s. To be successful, it has to focus on people in their 40s, 50s, and older. And this group is precisely the group that admires Paterno and feels that the university wronged him. This new capital campaign will be a complete failure unless Old Main finds a way to right the wrongs done by the Board of Trustees. Sooner or later the university is going to run out of accounting tricks to hide the fact that donations have plummeted.

 

[Marshall30]

Barron gets shit until the truth comes out.

 

[BobPSU92]

Barron gets shit until the truth comes out.

It isn't coming from him. Did he say that bullshit about the bot with a straight face?

 

[junior1]

With each passing year, more people leave PSU with a degree and fewer and fewer have perspective as to what went on. I disagree that anything will fizzle. PSU grads will be lining up to give money to Penn State, as they always have. This campaign will be a success. If it falls short it will still be painted as a roaring success. Nobody is going to be asking anyone to get back in the fold. You just had the chairman of the board of trustees mocking at least half of the alumni on social media. People like Masser and others make it impossible for me to support PSU anymore but that doesn't mean others won't. It's people like me who were the problem in the first place, according to Freeh and Frazier. They don't give a flyin fish who stays or goes.

Look at the money. Look at the buildings going up on campus. Look at the new student high rises and new student housing construction going up all over the place and more being planned. They are not building all that stuff to be stuck with empty properties. Enrollment is skyrocketing. The place prints money. They start a big capital campaign and people will be tripping over themselves to fund it.

I partially agree. But given all those lining up to give their money, PSU won't miss mine. IMHO, PSU has more than enough money. They just need to learn how to spend wisely.

 

[Victor E. Bell]

I agree with a lot of the things you write but you are dead wrong about this.

The people who are graduating from Penn State in 2016 won't be in a position to make substantial gifts to the university for many years - certainly longer than the six years of this capital campaign. They are graduating with an obscene amount of debt that will take even those in lucrative professions a few years to pay off. Then they will buy houses. Then they will raise kids. Giving a big chunk of money to Penn State is decades away for the post-Paterno graduates.

Penn State fundraising doesn't focus on alums in their 20s or even 30s. To be successful, it has to focus on people in their 40s, 50s, and older. And this group is precisely the group that admires Paterno and feels that the university wronged him. This new capital campaign will be a complete failure unless Old Main finds a way to right the wrongs done by the Board of Trustees. Sooner or later the university is going to run out of accounting tricks to hide the fact that donations have plummeted.

I have thought about this before and you are correct: Common sense would indicate that young people aren't going to have the necessary foundation to be large donors right away. However I can guess, based on what I see happening, is that either there is such a large volume of new grads that the sheer numbers of new donors are making up for the disillusioned older alums with some money who are leaving, or that most of the older alums are still giving.

People here say they don't give anymore and sometimes people say that donations are down, but who can really verify that? PSU certainly isn't going to ever admit it, and when you look around town, all evidence is that the place is booming. More housing, more campus construction, more ADs, more more more. I'm not complaining either, as a homeowner in the boro it only helps my bottom line that the university thrives. I just can't abide the poor-mouth routine they try to sell me.

 

[kgilbert78]

STOP GIVING.

- Stop giving even a dime

- Stop giving our children (and their tuition dollars)

- Stop giving ANYTHING.......not because we don't want to give to Penn State.....but, rather, because NOT giving may be the only way (certainly, one of the best ways) we can make a difference in the fight to FREE Penn State from the clutches of these evil c&cks&cking Scoundrels.

And THAT....my friends....is the greatest gift we could ever GIVE to Penn State.

This has to include, very sadly, THON. The money goes through PSU and is counted in its giving stats. And money is fungible. It would be easy to use THON money for its intended purpose but cut the other sources used for that research and use that money elsewhere. You can also add to overhead so that THON money is paying for what rightly should be a general fund expense. I am not saying that PSU is doing this. But they could--and it would not surprise me if they are, at least to some extent.

It is what happened in Ohio when they used the lottery to benefit schools. It turns out that the lottery has not been a source of extra money for the school. Instead the budget has stayed fairly constant, and the money that was once budgeted out of the general fund for schools now goes elsewhere. I expect the same is true in PA with the senior citizen lottery funding.

 

[psufan9808]

Should they announce that the theme is "donate to remove your current BOT" then it would be a record haul for sure.

 

[lionlurker]

It's likely that they will collect a ton of money, because the university has a ton of graduates. None of it will be from me, however, until they see the error of their ways. It may not mean much to them, but at least I can look myself in the mirror each morning knowing that I am doing whatever little I can to show my displeasure. Unlike the sycophant nobodies on the BOT who automatically do the bidding of the true power brokers, my integrity is not for sale.

 

[Evan Ceg]

I don't begrudge anyone a decision not to donate to Penn State for whatever reason they deem sufficient. It's your money, spend it at your discretion on things you care about.

There is a somewhat scientific process for determining whether a fund-raising campaign is likely to be successful. They won't go forward if their surveys and data show the number of people withholding funds will defeat their intentions. There's not much evidence to date of that. Also, setting the campaign's goal will be a function of a pretty careful analysis of donor capacity and may not be finally set until the Leadership phase of the campaign is well underway. Most campaigns stay pretty quiet until the Leadership gifts have pointed to eventual success.

I do recall one of the officials from the last campaign saying that many of the people who told them, "Never another dime!" had, in fact, never given the University a first dime.

I'm a little surprised that Penn State is preparing another major campaign so soon on the heels of the For the Future campaign, although it's true that "you never stop fund raising." Apparently they don't sense much major donor fatigue. Also, this next campaign might have a smaller goal than For the Future ($2B), especially since they're looking at a six-year time line and not seven (For the Future) or longer.

It's pretty typical that all donations received by a university for whatever purpose are counted in the campaign total during the years the campaign is active. A campaign that reaches its overall goal often misses on one or more of its sub-goals.

No one should be surprised by Barron's words about the BoT cited in the article. Boards are integral to success of fund-raising campaigns. You don't want people on a board of a not-for-profit who cannot or will not "give and get."