In an effort to meet the goals of the three-year Annual Fund Vision 20|20, a group of alumni, representative of most class decades, has visited MMA twice to discuss methods to increase the alumni participation rate for each class.
During the initial gathering on March 23, the group listened to an impassioned talk by President Bill Brennan at the opening dinner. He talked about the history of philanthropy, the escalating costs to run MMA, and his desire to make MMA affordable for any Maine student who wants to attend.
He summarized his remarks by stating, “I need your help because the only way we will increase gifts to financial aid is by increasing the participation rate to the Annual Fund. It is from there that donors give to scholarships and capital projects. Increasing participation to the Annual Fund is the critical pathway to increasing financial aid support at Maine Maritime Academy.”
Among their initiatives, the group has set a lofty goal of recruiting 40 Class Pursers by September 15, 2018. Modeled after the Class Agent program, these Class Pursers will work with the Academy’s Advancement Office and help make peer-to-peer calls to encourage others to support MMA.
Alumni assisting with this effort include: David Fenderson ’56, John Gillis ’72, Mike Ames ’77, Larry Burrill ’77, Jake Jacobs ’85, Joe Valliere ’99, Andrew Strosahl ’05, and Eliza Pingree ’15.
If you would like to volunteer or learn more about this program, please contact Chris Haley, Vice President for Institutional Advancement at 207-326-2232 or christopher.haley@mma.edu.
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