The Mason Spirit

Mason students showed their class spirit while giving back to the university during the second annual Patriots for Patriots campaign this past spring. More than 1,200 students contributed upward of $3,200 over the two-month span, compared with 800 students giving more than $2,000 just a year ago.

The Office of Annual Giving holds an annual Funds are Fried day outside of the Johnson Center to raise awareness of the importance of private donations in helping to cover the costs of tuition. Photo by Craig Bisacre

Claire Forman, BA Global Affairs and Latin American Studies ’09, assistant director of annual giving, says the main goal of the campaign was to educate students about the importance of private philanthropy to the university and how gifts at any level can make a difference.

“It’s encouraging to see how quickly the campaign has grown in its second year,” she says. “The response really shows how deeply Mason students care about their university.”

This year’s campaign featured a class competition sponsored by the newly formed Student Class Councils. The Class of 2015 won out with the highest participation, earning bragging rights as the inaugural winner.

In addition to donating to the area of their choice, students could make their gift in honor of former president Alan Merten and his wife, Sally, as part of the campaign in their honor.

The campaign officially ran from Funds Are Fried Day on March 22 through Mason Day on April 27. Funds Are Fried Day, which featured fried food, giveaways, and information on private support, roughly coincided with the point in the academic year when a student’s tuition no longer covers the cost of his or her education. Mason’s Budget Office reports that tuition covered expenses for about 62 percent of the 2011-12 academic year. State funding and private support close the remaining gap.

The third annual campaign is in the works for spring 2013.