Reed College
Reed College

Alumni Relations & Volunteer Engagement

Alumni Fundraising for Reed’s Glossary of Fundraising Terms

Reed's Donor Societies

  • Annual Fund Donor Societies
    • Griffin Society: $1,000 – $1,910
    • 1911 Society: $1,911 – $4,999
    • Anna Mann Society: $5,000 – $9,999
    • Amanda Reed Society: $10,000 – $24,999
    • Presidents Society: $25,000 +
  • Eliot Society: The Eliot Society recognizes donors who name Reed as a beneficiary of their will or trust or who establish a life income gift. This tradition of generosity reaches back to Reed's roots—the college itself was established through a bequest from the estates of Simeon and Amanda Reed in 1908. The society is named for Thomas Lamb Eliot, who first suggested to Simeon and Amanda Reed that they use their financial resources to found an institution of learning in Portland.
  • Evergreen Society: The Evergreen Society recognizes Reed donors at all levels who support the college through monthly giving. As reassuring as a misty Portland rain, ever-present monthly gifts are a convenient way to sustain the intellectual endeavors of Reed students and the faculty who support them. Seting up a monthly gift today ensures that consistent impact on the Reed community is felt every month, all year long.

Annual Fund Donor Types

  • Current Donor: Donor who has given in this fiscal year.
  • LYBUNT: Donor who gave Last Year But Unfortunately Not This.
  • SYBUNT: Donor who gave Some Year, in the last three years, But Unfortunately Not This.
    • SYBUNT1: Donor who gave two years ago but not since
    • SYBUNT2: Donor who gave three years ago but not since
    • SYBUNT3: Donor who gave four years ago but not since
  • Lapsed Donor: Donors who have not given in the past five years.
  • Non-Donor: Donor who has never given to the annual fund but has made a gift to the college. 
  • Never Donor: Donor who has never given to the college.
Donor Types for Fiscal Year 2024
Current Donor Made a gift in FY24
LYBUNT Made a gift in FY23 but not since
SYBUNT1 Made a gift in FY22 but not since
SYBUNT2 Made a gift in FY21 but not since
SYBUNT3 Made a gift in FY20 but not since
Lapsed Donor Made a gift at some point between FY19 and FY16 but not since
Non-Donor Has made a gift to Reed at some point in their life but never given to the Annual Fund
Never Donor They have never, ever given to Reed

 

General Fundraising Terms

  • Acquisition: The act of gaining new donors, specifically donors who have never made a gift.
  • Alumni Donor Count: The count of all alumni donors who have made a gift to the college that year. If two alumni are partners (or householded) in Reed’s database, they both count. 
  • Annual Fund: The money a nonprofit raises on an ongoing basis throughout the year.
  • Bequest: A transfer, by will, of personal property such as cash, securities, or other tangible property after death. 
  • Cash gift: The simple transfer of currency (cash, check, etc.) to a gift-supported organization or institution.
  • Campaign: A carefully organized, highly structured fundraising program using volunteers supported by staff and consultants to raise funds for specific needs, to be met in a specific time frame, with a specific dollar goal. Allows donors to pledge gifts to be paid over a period of years. Sometimes referred to as a Capital Campaign if mostly for physical buildings. 
  • Channel: How a gift is made, this includes web, mail, phonathon, and physically giving a gift to a gift officer. 
  • Charitable deferred gifts: A gift made using any of the following methods:
    • Wills: A charity may be named as a beneficiary under a will in many ways. These include a) gifts of specific property, whether it is real property or personal property; b) a gift of a stated amount of money; and c) a percentage of the remaining estate after specific gifts are made.
    • Revocable Trusts: A revocable trust allows the grantor to withdraw any or all assets during his or her lifetime, as well as having full enjoyment of the property during their life. At death the assets can flow efficiently to the beneficiaries, saving probate and administrative costs. A charity can be named as one of the beneficiaries.
    • Irrevocable Trusts: Charitable Remainder Unitrusts and Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts. Although the principal of these trusts cannot be withdrawn, there are additional benefits to the donor through immediate income tax deductions and fund management. The donor will receive yearly income from the trust.
    • Charitable Gift Annuities: Involves a transfer of cash or other property to the organization. In return, payment of a specified amount determined by age is made to the donor during their lifetime. The rates paid are the most recent ones adopted by the Committee on Gift Annuities as agreed to by most major charities.
    • Gift of Home or Farm Retaining a Life Estate: Through this gift the donor retains use of the property for their lifetime.
  • Cultivation: The process of promoting or encouraging interest and/or involvement on the part of a potential donor or volunteer leader; and the educative process to inform about an institution and the reason why it merits support.
  • Endowment: A form of a donation consisting of investment funds or other property that is designed to keep the principal amount intact while using the investment income from dividends for charitable efforts. 
  • Reactivation: The percentage of donors from the SYBUNT pools (see Donor Types above) that gave again in the current fiscal year.
  • Recurring gift: An ongoing, specific gift amount determined by a donor that is charged monthly to a donor's credit/debit card. 
  • Retention: A measure of how many LYBUNT donors (see Donor Types above) continue to donate to your organization.