{"id":51128,"date":"2011-11-22T11:44:56","date_gmt":"2011-11-22T16:44:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=51128"},"modified":"2011-11-29T08:30:36","modified_gmt":"2011-11-29T13:30:36","slug":"behind-the-scenes-of-a-major-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2011\/11\/behind-the-scenes-of-a-major-gift\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Scenes of a Major Gift"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Charles \u201950 (CANR), \u201951 MS, and Barbara Zwick announced their gift of $1 million to the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources\u2019 Food and Resource Policy Center in 2010, the news made the headlines at UConn, in the state media, and across the field of food and resource economics policy.<\/p>\n

\"Amy<\/a>
Amy Chesmer '94 (CANR), director of development for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, in front of the Young Building. (Sarah Rawlinson '15 (SFA)\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But leading up to the gift was an extensive behind-the-scenes process that meshed the donor\u2019s vision and the college\u2019s strengths, under the guidance of a member of the UConn Foundation\u2019s development department.<\/p>\n

Charles Zwick, a successful economist, former Harvard professor, UConn lecturer, and director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Johnson administration, is an analytical, thoughtful man who gives a lot of consideration to the manner in which he donates.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot more causes out there \u2013 good causes \u2013 than there are means to support them all,\u201d he says. And numerous other schools and organizations had already approached Zwick to make a major gift.<\/p>\n

The most important skill for a development officer is listening …\u00a0 understanding what motivates [a donor’s] philanthropy, knowing what connections exist at UConn to have that vision realized, and then working with the donor and the school to find the right fit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But as he reflected on the importance of his UConn education, and after working with the College of Agriculture, the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, and development staff, he knew his gift would have a significant impact at UConn. \u201cI\u2019ve had a very productive life, and I started to realize that I ought to help take care of the institutions in my life that made a difference to me,\u201d he says. \u201cUConn made a difference to this farm kid from Southington.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are places that, if you gave them a million dollar check, would say, \u2018Oh. One million? Yes, we\u2019ll find some time for you in three weeks\u2019,\u201d Zwick adds. \u201cUConn isn\u2019t like that. You know that the support matters to them, and you know it will make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>To make their gift, the Zwicks worked closely over the course of nine months with Amy Chesmer \u201994, the director of development for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and an alumna of the college herself. She designed a plan that included a gift today, which could be put to immediate use, and also a planned gift that would provide support for the college in perpetuity. Her work exemplifies the crucial role played by the Foundation\u2019s approximately 25 development officers in University\u2019s $600-million fundraising campaign, Our University. Our Moment. <\/em><\/p>\n

Chesmer says the key to the process is understanding both the donor\u2019s and the University\u2019s vision, and working to blend the two.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important skill for a development officer is listening,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd that doesn\u2019t mean having lunch with a donor and then asking them for $1 million. It doesn\u2019t work that way. It means understanding what motivates their philanthropy, knowing what connections exist at UConn to have that vision realized, and then working with the donor and the school to find the right fit for their generosity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chesmer believes that a major gift requires almost as much commitment on the part of the University as it does the donor.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn an ideal situation, you have a faculty member, a dean, or leadership with a clear vision and identifiable objectives for where they want to go,\u201d she says. \u201cDonors want to see their money utilized well, so before anyone signs a check, we all really do need the full backing of the University to make sure the gift is for something that can be accomplished.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m playing the role of intermediary, of a connection to the end result the donor wants to see,\u201d she adds. \u201cIt requires that the donors trust me and us; that we\u2019re doing the right thing for the right reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles Zwick, the lifetime policy maker, says his gift to support an economic policy center at his alma mater was influenced by the philosophy of the late Andrew Carnegie. \u201cCarnegie believed that if you have the means, you have to spend your money in productive ways,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you don\u2019t, that\u2019s the greatest sin. That notion made a difference to me. What\u2019s productive? Buying a boat or an airplane? That\u2019s not meaningful. I chose to give to the interests I have, to a place that directed the rest of my life, and where I can see that I can help now.\u201d<\/p>\n

To make a gift to support UConn, please contact the UConn Foundation’s development department<\/a> or make a gift online<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When a major gift hits the headlines, the unwritten story is the role the development officer played in blending the donor’s vision with the strengths of the University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":50625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[43],"class_list":["post-51128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-30 19:30:47","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51128"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51155,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51128\/revisions\/51155"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/50625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51128"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=51128"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=51128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}