Donors have two primary expectations when they give money to an organisation: 1) to be thanked and 2) to be shown where their money is going. The inaugural SU Bursary Appreciation Event, hosted on 1 March at STIAS, aimed to satisfy both of these expectations.
The function enabled our bursary donors to engage with a cross section of key role-players, including representatives from our Bursary Offices and bursary recipients, and helped them to understand their contribution to student success more fully.
The atmosphere of the evening served to validate the African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child”. It takes a family that wants the best for their children. It takes the determination of the individual to put in the effort. It takes empathetic bursary office staff to serve funding needs. It takes holistic support systems to help first-generation students succeed.
And – as importantly – it takes generous donors to provide the funds that will unlock the potential of so many of our students.
“As leader of this institution, which I am incredibly proud of, I thank you for your support. We do not take you for granted. Maybe we don’t say it enough, but we appreciate your role here in our “village”,” said Prof De Villiers. “Ours is a stable and well-functioning village – and your support has certainly contributed to this state of affairs.”
Amy Kirby and Tendai Matzi, two current bursary recipients and students in medicine and electrical and electronic engineering (respectively), described the impact that financial support has had in their own lives. There were certainly some moist eyes in the room after the students shared their inspiring stories.
Need for bursary support ongoing
More than a third of SU’s recent graduates – around 2 000 students – have received some form of financial assistance during their studies. Therefore, any assumption that all Stellenbosch students are from affluent backgrounds is incorrect. Last year, 41% of our students were from the so-called missing middle, i.e. households with a combined income of R600 000 or less per annum.
And they need support.
Donor retention is therefore crucial to maintaining financial stability, while simultaneously canvassing for greater support and new donors. Our donor relations strategy encompasses four elements.
These include Stewardship and Impact Reporting, Acknowledgment, Recognition, and Donor Engagement. The bursary events play a two-fold role: they recognise our important partnership with our donors and create the environment for our donors to engage with staff and students on a more informal level.
Two bursary events will be hosted in Johannesburg this August.