It’s our birthday! On Oct. 26, we celebrate our 59th birthday as an Institute. We are using this opportunity to host our first-ever Giving Day before we celebrate our 60th anniversary in 2020. In recognition of this major milestone, the Institute’s Board of Directors has undertaken an ambitious fundraising campaign to make certain USITT is ready to tackle the challenges that will come in our next 60 years.
What is it?
Giving Day is a 15-hour giving event to generate contributions from our entire community to benefit the work supported by the Setting the Next Stage Campaign.
When is it?
Giving Day will take place on Oct. 26 from 8 a.m. EST to 11 p.m. EST.
How to Participate
We know you have busy lives, so here are three easy steps to participate in Giving Day:
- Make your gift on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. If you have already made a gift to the campaign, thank you! By making an additional gift of any size on Oct. 26, you can help us secure essential funding for USITT’s work and help us meet the matching challenges of the day.
- Email your contacts. Email your friends and networks and ask them to join you in making a gift to USITT on Giving Day.
- Spread the word on social media. Talk about #USITTGivingDay on your own social media outlets. Post your own USITT story on Facebook, tweet why you give, or post a selfie on Instagram using #USITTGivingDay, the campaign’s official hashtag.
What is our Setting the Next Stage Campaign?
The Setting the Next Stage campaign was announced at our annual Conference in Louisville on March 20, 2019. Immediate Past President Mark Shanda announced that the Institute is already well over halfway to its goal of raising $600,000 before the 2020 Conference. As of Sept. 16, 2019, we have achieved 81 percent of the goal.
Setting the Next Stage will provide improved financial liquidity, security, and stability for the Institute while establishing a strong platform for growth in member services and programming. Newly raised funds given throughout the campaign will be distributed at the donor’s request to any one of four well-established funds:
- Edward F. Kook Fund to support research;
- New Century Fund to support awards and early career programs, diversity and inclusion initiatives and the Rigging Safety Initiative;
- Samuel H. Scripps International Fund to support international activities;
- USITT Fund to support projects for the future of USITT. Gifts are restricted and only the investment growth of this fund is used.
The campaign goal will raise $100,000 each for the Kook Fund and the Scripps Fund; $200,000 each to the New Century Fund and the USITT Fund. Additionally, the campaign seeks to increase the number of people who join the Loft Block Society, USITT’s planned giving program.
We thank you for your past, present, and future donations which secure essential funding for USITT’s work.
