'Thank-A-Donor' Week at SLC

The PHIL Project, a student-run committee that focuses on philanthropy. Photo Credit: Lexy Rivera, MFA '15 

Sarah Lawrence isn’t cheap - there’s a $65,000 price tag to prove that. While students complain constantly that the school is too expensive, many may be surprised to know that your tuition doesn’t cover the cost of attending Sarah Lawrence.

“When you factor in […] all of the air-conditioning, and everything from waste removal to faculty salaries, in essence everybody here is getting financial aid,” says Jody Abzug, Senior Director for the Fund for Sarah Lawrence.

This is where donations come in. SLC constantly branches out to alumni and other potential donors.

“We fundraise in as many ways as we possibly can. More and more we try to do personal visits because one-on-one is obviously the best way to encourage anybody to do something because you can answer their questions and you can hopefully change their negativity to positivity and you can evaluate what their interests are or what their disinterests are,” says Abzug.

The other way they fund raise is through phone calls. The SLC Phonathan Callers are students who call alumni asking for their donations.

“I’ve gotten hung up on so many times, but most of the time they are very nice. Every single person who I’ve talked to had at least one good thing to say about Sarah Lawrence, which is huge,” says Danielle Dyen-Shapiro ’18, a Phonathan Caller.

The PHIL Project is a student-run committee that focuses on philanthropy from SLC students. The staff coordinator, Lexy Rivera MFA ’15, is an alum from Sarah Lawrence who worked for the Office of Advancement.

“It’s student run for the most part but I’m the staff coordinator for the Phil Project committee.

“I just started this semester, [..] but the Phil Project itself has been around since 2012,” says Rivera.

An aspect of their organization is planning for “thank-a-donor” week.

“In the fall semester the main thing we’re doing is the “thank-a-donor” week, and so right now the committee has just been preparing for that. It’s a week long initiative, where we try to get more than 500 thank you notes that we’ll send out to donors,” says Lesedi Ntsele ’17.

The students in Phil Project themselves donate to the school, even though they’re not alumni.

“I think Sarah Lawrence helped me out, especially getting me here with the scholarship. That’s one of the reasons why I’m working right now [with Phil Project],” says Cindy Mao, ’19.

The organization puts a lot of effort in educating the student body on why it’s important to donate.

“We’re not just raising money, we’re raising awareness,” says Haoyang Zhang, ’19.

“even if you can’t give much give something because you’re something and my something can add up to something more. So everyone should give something,” says Andrea Davis, ’16.

“I think it’s important to give back. That’s the whole reason that we’re doing this. It’s kind of the season for being thankful and so our slogan is ‘give thanks and give back.’ that’s what’s on all of our flyers,” says Rivera.

If you want to join or inquire email: philproject@gm.slc.edu

by Joseph McFarland ‘16