The Events Center received a major fundraising push when the Board of Trustees and Board of Fellows created a second match in which they will match Annual Giving campaign contributions, in addition to the already established Rothschild match.

Four months ago, Jeff and Marieke Rothschild pledged to match donations to the Capital Campaign to up to $10 million.

The Boards of Trustees and Fellows established a fund dedicated to the Events Center – a second match – to match all the donations contributed to the Annual Giving campaign.

During an all-faculty meeting on May 7, the faculty was given the opportunity to make donations to Annual Giving as well as to the Rothschilds match. In that meeting, a shift in donations occurred.

“We saw a trend happening; many of the members were shifting all or most of the funding to the match,” said Executive Director of Advancement Joe Rosenthal.

The Annual Giving fund provides $1.66 million in student expenditures for drama productions and debate and athletic funding, that if it does not acquire as much as it normally does, it could be devastating to the program.

The Board of Trustees and the Board of Fellows then decided to match Annual Giving donations, which will go towards student-related payments. The Rothschilds will match the Capital Campaign donation, which will go towards the funding for the Events Center. When a pledge is made to Annual Giving with a value at least as much as a previous gift and any contribution is given to the Capital Campaign, both gifts will be matched.

For example, someone previously gave $1000 to Annual Giving. The donor then recently pledged at least $1000 to Annual Giving and also made a $500 pledge to the Capital Campaign. After making both of these donations, the Boards matched the patron’s most recent Annual Giving donation of $1000, and the donor’s original $1000 went to the student expenditures as it did previously.

The $500 Capital Campaign pledge along with the Rothschilds’ match of $500 is donated to the Events Center. Donations can be made once a year for up to three years.

Rosenthal believes that this pivotal second match will greatly push the fundraising closer to its goal. “[Because the] Boards have made a commitment to matching the amount of money [from Annual Giving], we’ll be able to raise and apply it towards meeting the match for the Capital Campaign,” he said. “That will hope- fully be the five million dollar mark.”