Philanthropy at MC: an effort to give back–in time, talent and treasure

In 1989, Dan Greaser got involved with the Maryville College Board of Directors. While he is a 1960 alum, and his family boasts nine MC students over the years, he didn’t decide to start giving back to his alma mater until many years after his graduation. This year, Greaser and his wife, Shirley, entered a group of elite donors by reaching a lifetime giving of one million dollars. 

Greaser said that involvement is what helped define Maryville’s needs for him, and this is true for other alumni. Homecoming is an important time for the college and for alumni to both get connected and to think about philanthropy. 

“That’s when a lot of people start thinking about the college–they are coming back for a reunion,” said Vice President of Institutional Advancement Suzy Booker.

The proximity and focus on specific needs helps the college generate support during this season, but the job of fundraising is year-round. Booker oversees fundraising, alumni relations and church relations, which includes a lot of planning and communicating, as well as meeting with people.

“I have a wonderful team that works with me–we meet individually with donors and talk to them about the college,” said Booker. “We want to align their interests with our needs.”

One of the struggles for receiving financial support is in understanding and communicating the college’s needs. So, the advancement department tries to highlight specific needs and find ways to connect alumni and interested community members.

“In a lot of ways, our needs are limitless. We can always do something better, or we can improve things. There are always students who need financial aid or are deserving of special awards.”

Understanding the needs of the college is part of what started Greaser’s legacy in philanthropy at MC.

“When I was asked to be on the board, I understood that the challenges of the school were critical for survival,” said Greaser. “We had a lack of enrollment growth in the 80’s, and didn’t have funds for proper maintenance.”

During his time on the Board of Directors, Greaser worked hard to improve the beautification of campus and the maintenance of buildings. The first instance of this was the first “KT week” in 1997. Not only do these cosmetic improvements help with recruiting, they also increase the sense of giving among the community.

“Some of our most generous donors are people from this community who love the college and want to see it succeed,” said Booker.

Even with a generous local community, the majority of the fundraising and philanthropy of the school come from alumni. Homecoming, as a point in the year when alumni come together, only makes sense to be a high point in the year for fundraising.

Booker explained that the “milestone reunions”—of 40th, 50th, and 60th years—are a main feature of Homecoming. This year, that means that the classes of ‘64, ‘74 and ‘84 celebrated through specific projects and fundraising goals.

“The class of ‘84 is supporting the Maryville Fund, which offers unrestricted dollars that can be used where the need is greatest,” said Booker. “‘74 went with supporting the college in our athletic conference transition, and they also wanted to support the new Scots Learning Commons.” The class of ‘64 created a $80,450 scholarship endowment this year, Booker added.

Homecoming celebrations are often focused on older alumni—at least in the realm of giving. This is due to a few factors, including that the trends of philanthropy are greatly influenced by market anxiety and the age of alumni.

“Particularly with young alumni, they may wait to make contributions,” said Booker. “They have taken on debt of some kind and they have to pay that off.”

“Philanthropy is something that you don’t think about when you are in college,” said Greaser. “And you don’t think about it when you’re just starting a career. You don’t have much to give or share.”

Greaser also spoke about the timeline for giving in many people’s lives. He said that it is easier to become philanthropic after you have housing, a career, maybe even after you have paid for your children’s education. The question Greaser asks next is: “to whom do you give?”

“This choice becomes an important feature of philanthropy,” he said. “One option is a church, one is a non-profit you are involved in, but the one that is special for me is giving to your alma mater.”

Throughout his career, especially in recognizing the importance of cultural difference and having good critical thinking skills, Greaser attributed much of his success to his experiences at MC.

“People will ask ‘where did you learn that?’ It’s usually something you’ve learned in classes you didn’t even think of as being important in your undergraduate,” he said. “If I’m going to give to anything, I would want to support that which really supported me.”

A beautiful thing about philanthropy is how it touches others, and the selflessness in which financial support is given. One of Booker’s favorite aspects is being able to see them experience the joys of their giving through the students they help. 

This is highlighted through Jenny Jett Erwin (‘68), whose work was targeted toward non-traditional students.

“She created a scholarship for nontraditional women coming back to school. It’s heartwarming for her to see them together,” Booker said. “They have developed this connection with her, with the college and now with each other.

Like Erwin, the alumni and community member donors want to set students up for success. Greaser said that giving is a way of sustaining the good that the college can do.

“You want to give to something that’s going to grow in influence and impact,” Greaser said. “I think one of the reasons that we give is the appreciation for what MC stands for.”