Inaugural Philanthropy Honor Cord Program Earns Award

The University of Findlay’s new Graduating Class Philanthropy Honor Cord program was recently recognized for its outstanding efforts in enhancing student learning and service.
At its August conference in Perrysburg, the Independent College Advancement Association (ICAA) conferred upon UF its Program of Excellence Award, which celebrates “people or teams that have developed innovative programs, tools and systems,” and recognizes best practices in the higher education advancement field.
The honor cord program, which commenced with the Class of 2016, includes financial, educational and service components. To earn a cord, a student for this class had to make a financial gift of $20.16 (their class year) or greater, attend at least one event in the University’s educational event series that focused on topics regarding philanthropy and its potential effects on community and complete service hours.
Graduating class members Nicholas Thompson and Kayla Prater were instrumental in organizing the program.f
The green philanthropy cords were worn at commencement and recipient names were published in the commencement program.
“From the financial side, the prior graduating class gift donors had an average gift of $11.36 while the 2016 program yielded an average gift of $21.80 with more donors than ever before,” UF’s ICAA award application stated. “Moreover, our efforts resulted in over 100 students earning their philanthropy cord, logging over 1,000 service hours, and attending multiple educational events which have already led to more awareness and engagement than other recent graduating classes.”
The ICAA is a support organization for college advancement professionals who work at private institutions. Its mission is to enhance the professional development of its members and their understanding of issues facing private higher education and institutional advancement. For more information visit www.myicaa.org.

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