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Subj: Alumni Association Leadership Update—Special Edition; August 2005 Refer to: Central Region Letter 15-05; August 18,
2005 **** George Watt ’73, the Alumni Association President, has issued a “Special Edition” Leadership Update regarding the USNA fund-raising campaign. It is forwarded below verbatim for your information. LEADERSHIP UPDATE – SPECIAL EDITION !!! Date: 10 August 2005 Subj: Campaign Update I am delighted to inform you that as of July 31st, total documented commitments to the Leaders To Serve the Nation Campaign are now $229.2 million. With five months remaining to our December 31, 2005 deadline we have now exceeded our revised goal of $225 million! The paid (cash received) vs. pledged (still outstanding) breakdown: $172.4 million is paid; $56.8 million is pledged. And, there is even more good news: fundraising for the stadium has now exceeded $40 million in total commitments. Several class fundraising efforts are still underway which should help us build in an incremental margin as we continue to collect all existing pledges in a timely manner. In fact, if every class reaches its target and if every donor pays his/her pledge on time, we will not only complete the entire renovation but we will also fully retire our stadium project line of credit. Additionally, we are making great progress toward our initial target of raising $5 million for the Fund for Athletic Excellence. The case is sound, and several large donors have already come forward to jump start the effort. On behalf of the staff of the Foundation and the Alumni Association, thank you for your leadership, for your support, for your confidence and especially for your generosity. When we first publicly announced this campaign just four years ago, we believed we had a rather audacious goal ($175 million). In fact, it’s been only 20 months since we exceeded that target and raised the bar to $225 million. In addition to surpassing another important dollar milestone, we have also assisted Naval Academy leadership in addressing strategic priorities through private gift support; we’ve added to the margin of excellence at the Academy across the board; and most importantly, we’ve established the Naval Academy Foundation as a strategic partner in advancing the Naval Academy nationally. We’ve also proven to our alumni, midshipmen parents, various corporations and several hundreds of friends that we have a viable and relevant case for private, sustaining support. Going forward, we will carry on with the Campaign and associated fund-raising priorities through December 31, 2005. In the five months that remain, we ask every leader & volunteer and every current & prospective donor to revisit his/her own personal commitment, especially with an eye toward making a generous multi-year pledge to the unrestricted Naval Academy Annual Fund. This must remain one of our highest priorities - without the support of unrestricted donations, we cannot sustain the other strategic needs at the USNA nor can we provide mission critical programs at the Alumni Association and Foundation. We will continue to keep you informed as we continue in our collective success. For now, we are giving ourselves a hearty “BRAVO ZULU” as this is truly a job Well Done! GO NAVY!!! George
George P. Watt, Jr. ’73 President and Chief Executive Officer”
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*** Central Region: |