In the final days and hours before the challenge-campaign deadline, IJNR Fellows and friends came through with enough contributions to reach our required goal of $112,500 and then exceed it by more than $1,700. What a happy victory!
Please excuse our exuberance, but today (August 8) is the official campaign deadline. We are so glad (and relieved) to have it be over. By the time we crossed the finish line, 201 IJNR Fellows (45% of our locatable alumni) had donated during the 12-month-long campaign. As professional fundraisers will attest, this level of support is truly remarkable. We think it’s also inspiring.
All 11 members of the IJNR Board of Trustees contributed. So did the members of the staff, along with numerous speakers from previous IJNR expeditions and many other friends of the organization.
Among the Fellows, a wee bit of friendly “class rivalry” probably helped our cause:
And here’s the kicker: Because of more than $31,000 in generous “repeat” giving by quite a few previous donors, IJNR actually raised a total of $145,262 in contributions from individuals and families. These days, that’s about one-fourth of our annual budget. In prior years, gifts from individuals had accounted for only about 2% to 3% of our budget.
This challenge campaign was the most ambitious and difficult fundraising effort IJNR has ever undertaken. With the help of the IJNR Fellows and many other people, we have succeeded beyond what we dared to imagine.
As a result, IJNR will soon receive a matching grant of $75,000. That money will come from the Challenge Fund for Journalism, a philanthropic group that includes the Ford Foundation (New York), the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation (Miami), the McCormick-Tribune Foundation (Chicago), and the Ethics & Excellence in Journalism Foundation (Oklahoma City).
We send our heartfelt thanks to everyone who took part in this effort. We won’t forget you. And many future IJNR Fellows will be grateful to you. Hooray!
Frank, Maggie & Peter