Much of the new Talbot building was funded by Biola alumni. Their donations have been an asset to the Biola community. | Jessica Lindner/THE CHIMES
The season of giving was officially welcomed with numbers of alumni present at the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, many of whom donate every year, playing such a major role in students’ education at Biola.
Donations help cover tuition costs
The price of tuition is about $1,000 less than it actually costs for Biola to give students an education, said Rick Bee, senior director of Alumni and Friends. Consequently, the school is losing money for each student that is admitted. No business can continue to run on that kind of trade-off, so outside donations become necessary to the school’s existence, said Bee.
Biola receives donations totaling around $10 million a year. This sum is largely the result of individual donations from alumni, parents and students’ friends. The money from these donations is distributed into three main categories. For the 2011-2012 school year so far, 43 percent of donated funds has gone to support student scholarships, 18 percent to endowments, 17 percent has funded projects such as construction and the remaining 22 percent has gone towards a variety of smaller categories such as academic programs and departments, according to Mark Miles, senior director of development.
“We hope for an increase each year in the support our alumni, students’ parents and friends of the university give,” Miles said.
Biola hopes to increase alumni support
Today, a little over half of alumni donate at least once after they have graduated. But the majority of these are one-time occurrences. Though there are over 60,000 Biola alumni all over the world, only 14 percent of them donate to the school every year. It is this percentage that Bee hopes to increase in the near future. He hopes to instill an attitude of giving in people while they are still attending Biola. Bee and his department are starting to work with Associated Students to hold events that will nourish a sense of school pride in their alma mater, to help students realize how blessed they are to be a part of Biola.
“It really starts when you’re a student,” Bee said. “It’s starting to support the university and realizing it’s important to do that.”
Small donations help make a difference
Often, donors think their small contribution would not make a difference so they do not even bother, Bee explained.
“Sometimes people think, ‘What’s my $5 going to do?’” Bee said. “We have 60,000 alumni out there, so if you multiply that small donation by a big number, and if all 60,000 are giving back, that’s a lot of money. So I think that even a small gift can make a difference.”
Donors control where donations go
Once students have graduated, there are many resources available to learn about where Biola needs financial support. From Biola Magazine, which is sent out to about 70,000 readers, to electronic newsletters and one-on-one visits, information is made readily available to alumni and friends across the country and even internationally.
Alumni who do donate are able to direct where they want their money to go. If there is a specific program, scholarship or project that they are passionate about, they are able to send their funds to that particular area.
“They want to see that next generation of students that come to Biola be able to get the same kind of training and teaching that they got when they were here,” Bee said.
Alumni giving essential to Biola
Sophomore Communication Studies major Genna Greiner said she had never really thought about or planned on supporting the school, but she admits that it is important to continue to give back even after graduation.
“Attending Biola is such a great experience that it makes sense to donate as an alumnus,” Greiner said.
Ultimately, donations remain an integral part of Biola’s operation, making alumni giving essential. Bee looks at this as a Scriptural mandate as well as a natural response of gratefulness to all that God has given.
“[Students’] lives are impacted by the faculty, they’re impacted by the coursework that they take, the 30 units of Bible,” Bee said. “Scripture’s pretty clear to say that where you have been blessed, to those who have blessed you, give back and support them. So even when you become an alum, you’re responsible to give back to those organizations that have had a significant impact on your life.”
