In 2016, Waynesburg University launched a campaign called the Opportunity and Knowledge Strengthened Campaign [OAKS], a five-year plan mainly focused on increasing endowments to the university. This past summer, the OAKS campaign reached its halfway point.

Stacey Brodak, vice president for Institutional Advancement and University Relations, said the main reason for launching the campaign was to strengthen the university, something President Douglas G. Lee wanted to focus on.

“President Lee really wanted to make sure during his time as president that he was strengthening the future of the institution as much as possible,” Brodak said. “When they decided to go with a comprehensive campaign, the focus was on increasing endowments, which gives that extra long-term stability for the institution and the ability to give back to students through those endowments.”

Although the team is putting an emphasis on establishing new endowments, their efforts also include increasing the amounts of existing endowments. In addition, all gifts of $20,000 or higher are contributed to the campaign.

Lee emphasized “value” as a main purpose of the campaign, as he would like to see the university achieve the best education possible in an affordable way.

“The OAKS campaign is about value. It’s about continuing to make education here as affordable as we possibly can,” Lee said.

According to Brodak, donors who contribute to or set up an endowment can direct where those dollars go. Institutional Advancement works with donors one-on-one through phone, email and in-person meetings to set up a fund that is directed the way they want.

“Our team would work with the donors to look at their interests and help them determine where they want to give and establish an endowment they feel really good about and meets the purpose they want to achieve,” Brodak said.

will give back to the department their major was in back when they attended the school.

“That’s where the heart of our donors and alumni are,” Lee said. “They love to create scholarships. They love to give to scholarships and they see the benefit of it.”

Along with helping donors see how much their gifts help students, Brodak said they also want students to understand that the money is coming from people interested in their education.

“We are very fortunate that we have great alums and great people with connections to the university that care about our students and want to make that possible for other students.”

To encourage the relationship between students and donors, Brodak said they are incorporating communication between the two groups, such as student thank you letters or in-person meetings with donors they benefited from through scholarships and gifts.

“[Donors] want to give where they have a relationship,” Brodak said. “Most people at a [monetary] level like this, won’t give because they read an ad in a magazine; it’s going to be because they want that personal relationship and connection with the university.”

The campaign ends in December 2020, but until then, Institutional Advancement is using multiple methods to push the campaign and double their endowments, including letters, email, phone calls, ads and events.

“I’m really excited about the number of scholarships we’ve already started as a result of this,” Lee said. “It’s a powerful thing for us to be a part of and help accomplish.”