The power of giving on repeat

This year, the Newman Advancement team is setting its focus on recurring gifts.

A recurring gift is like signing up for a subscription, but instead of another streaming service or favorite product delivered to the door, recurring donors sign up to support Newman students’ futures.

Mike Boston ’84 gives monthly. He credits Newman for helping him discover his purpose and for the “many seeds planted by the professors, sisters, staff and coaches” that nurtured him.

“All that I am and have become has many of its roots traced back to the liberal arts education that I received,” Boston said. “How can I not support a place that gave me so much?”

Recurring gifts are important components of a university’s fundraising strategy. They allow the university to provide more student financial aid, invest in campus improvements and make more efficient long-term plans.

“Our recurring givers are so instrumental to the health of our fundraising,” said Bob Beumer, vice president for institutional advancement. “They are a great blessing to the university and our students.”

For donors, they offer an stress-free way to support meaningful causes. It also allows the donor to break up their planned total support into more manageable gifts, such as budgeting smaller amounts like $9 per month or $25 every quarter as opposed to $100 a year.

“I like that I can set it up, leave it on autopilot and not worry about it,” Boston said. “With my budget, donating monthly is easier than giving quarterly, semi-annually or annually where a bigger lump sum may not be as manageable.”

Cindy Sigmund received her Master of Theology degree in 2018 and has given monthly to the program since November 2022.

Her reasoning is simple: “I give because I am thankful for what Newman did for me,” she said. “Secondly, I give with the hope that over time my small, repeated gifts will add up into something useful.”

Sigmund encourages others to give and said, “Pray and discern if God is calling you to give and then be obedient. I have come to know Jesus in a deeper way because of Newman. Your monthly gift added to other gifts will make a difference. Allow yourself to imagine the possibilities — the harvest of all the tiny seeds we are planting together.”

Interested in setting up a recurring gift? Visit newmanu.edu/giving or contact Laura Hartley at 316-942-4291 ext. 2161 or [email protected].