Extra effort fundraising for the past three years has paid tremendous dividends for students at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and has resulted in a national award for the ABAC advancement staff.

Vice President of External Affairs and Advancement Paul Williams said ABAC has been recognized by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education with a 2018 Educational Fundraising Award for Overall Fundraising Performance.

“I am very proud of the advancement team here at ABAC for earning this very impressive recognition,” Williams said. “It is no coincidence that this award is primarily based on the progress made since Dr. Deidre Mercer Martin joined our team. Her role in developing a professional fund-raising organization and drawing her peers into it cannot be overstated.”

Williams said the honor is presented each year to superior fundraising programs at colleges and universities across the country. ABAC, a first-time recipient of the award, and Columbus State University were the only institutions in Georgia to receive the recognition.

“The program that Dr. Martin developed has been endorsed and supported by faculty and staff across the ABAC campus,” Williams said. “Our fundraising effort has also succeeded due to the involvement of our Alumni Association, led by Lynda Fisher; our Foundation, led by Jodie Snow; the Arts Connection, directed by Wayne Jones; and our advancement infrastructure, led by Sue Mastrario with key efforts by Sue Dees, Gloria Sulkowski, and Josie Smith. For us to be successful, it takes absolute teamwork.”

ABAC is among an exceptional group of 90 colleges, universities, and independent schools from across the nation receiving this year’s award. ABAC was selected to receive the award based on the judges’ analysis of three years of fundraising data submitted to the annual Voluntary Support of Education Survey.

Each year since 1959, CASE and its predecessor organizations have recognized exceptional development programs. The awards program spotlights overall performance and overall improvement in educational fundraising programs. A CASE member institution is automatically eligible for the awards in overall performance and overall improvement provided it has participated in the VSE for the past three years.

An expert panel of volunteer judges selects winners based on factors, including pattern of growth in total support (or adjusted total support if appropriate), evaluation of what contributed to the total support figure, overall breadth in program areas, pattern of growth in each program area, pattern of donor growth among alumni donors and other individual donors, impact of the 12 largest gifts on total support, total support in relation to the alumni base, and type of institution.

In selecting Overall Fundraising Performance winners, judges use these factors to recognize institutions that show solid program growth, breadth in the base of support and other indications of a mature, well-maintained program. ABAC has experienced increases in donor support of 43 percent, 57 percent and 32 percent, respectively, over the last three fiscal years.