KIRSTEN GUDMUNDSE
More than 3,000 students showed their support by donating to BYU’s capital campaign, “Lighting the Way for the 21st Century,” said Campaign Chair Vance Taylor. The campaign was completed Nov. 8.
Approximately 12 percent to 15 percent of the student body contributed $46,389 to the monthlong campaign. Even though BYU was hoping for 100 percent student participation, the campaign committee was pleased with the results.
“I can’t emphasize enough how proud I was of the student body as a whole,” Taylor said. “We were surprised at the dollar amounts given because the average was $15. It really was a sacrifice,” he said.
Students were asked in a letter by President Merrill J. Bateman and the President’s Coordinating Council to contribute the equivalent of a night’s worth of entertainment to the campaign.
“We had to rely on direct mailing to contact students, and when you compare our student response to other direct mailing statistics, we did very well. Usually direct mailings only see about a 3 percent response,” said campaign committee member Shannon Monroe.
“Obviously we were shooting for 100 percent participation, but we are looking at this as a glass half full rather than half empty,” she said.
The Capital Campaign will be an annual event to promote support of BYU and to recognize the sacrifices made by BYU founders and alumni, Taylor said.
Students can continue to send in donations anytime throughout the year with the donation forms they received. Donations can be sent by campus mail or taken to the Student Alumni Office or the fourth floor of the Wilkinson Center.
The Capital Campaign Committee was pleased with the outcome of the event, despite limited resources.
“We really only had a month to this, and we were given a very limited budget. Even with our limited resources it came off well. I think the students caught the spirit of the campaign,” Monroe said.
