TheBriarWire|Volume1,Issue5|December2015“NextisNow”:2016fundraisingchallengetoallalumnaeSweetBriarneedsallofusnowasweactivatetheprocessofrestoringleadership,scholarship,goodgovernance,stewardshipandexcellence!Together,wecanaccomplishanything.TheOfficeofAlumnaeRelationsandDevelopmenthaslaunchedtheannualgivingprogramwithabroaderplantodiversifyourfundingsources.Thisisnowacomprehensivevisioncalled“NEXTISNOW.”Itallstartedlastweekwith:- aThanksgivingteasershowingappreciationforsupportoverthe
pastyear;- aminiphonathon(detailstotheleft),jumpstartedonDecember1
with#GivingTuesday;- acaseforsupportoutliningthefullinitiative,whichwillcometo
yourmailboxessoon;and- aletterfromfundraisingchampionswhowillbereachingoutinthe
newyear.Whenyoureceivethecaseforsupport,youwillseethatwehaveanambitiousgoalofraising$30millionbyJune30,2016.WeneedyoursupportnowjustasmuchaswedidduringtheSavingSweetBriarcampaign.Joinus!Tomakeagiftnow,visitsbc.edu/giftormailyourchecksto:
SweetBriarCollegeSweetBriarFundPOBox1057
SweetBriar,VA24595Spotlighton2015Year-EndFinancialPlanning:NowIsTheTimeToConsiderCharitableWaystoIncreaseIncomeandDecreaseTaxesGiftsofCash
CashgiftstoSweetBriararedeductibleupto50%ofyouradjustedgrossincomeprovidedyouitemizeyourdeductionsonyourtaxreturn.Thedeductionmaybecarriedforwardforfiveyears.GiftsofAppreciatedSecurities,RealEstateorBusinessInterestsBymakingagiftoflongtermappreciatedproperty;youcansaveincometaxestwice.First,yousavebyreceivingacharitabledeductionforthecurrentvalueofthegift.Second,yousavebyeliminatingthepaymentoftheincreasedcapitalgainstaxontheproperty’sincreasedvalue.Thesegiftsaredeductibleupto30%ofyouradjustedgrossincome,adeductionwhichmaybecarriedforwardforfiveyears.CharitableIRARolloverGiftEventhoughtheCharitableIRARolloverGifthasnotyetbeenapprovedfor2015,mostpeoplebelieveitwillbereinstatedlaterinDecemberandwillbeappliedretroactivelyforthistaxyear.Manyaremakingsuchtransfersalreadybasedonthisassumption.Thisgiftprovidesawayformember’sage70and½oroldertotransferupto$100,000tax-freefromanIRAdirectlytoSweetBriar.ThisgiftalsoprovidesawaytoavoidtherequiredminimumdistributionbydirectingthatitbepaidtoSweetBriar.GiftsthatProvideIncreasedIncomeforLifeAlifeincomegiftsuchasaCharitableRemainderTrustoraCharitableGiftAnnuityallowsyoutogivetoSweetBriarandprovideslifeincomeforyouandanotherifyouwish.Thesegiftsfrequentlyincreaseyourincome;saveincometax,capitalgainstaxandestatetax;andalsobenefitSweetBriar.
GiftsofHomeorFarmYoucangiveyourresidenceorfarmtoSweetBriarnowandkeeptheuseofthepropertyduringyourownandanother'slifetime.YoureceiveacurrentincometaxdeductionforyourfuturegifttoSweetBriarandsaveincometaxnow.Todiscussthesesuggestionsfurtheroransweranyquestions,pleasecalloremailtoday!ClaireDennisonGriffith’80Director,MajorandPlannedGiftsAlumnaeRelationsandDevelopmentOffice434-381-6479cgriffith@sbc.edu#GivingTuesdaykicksoffFall2015PhonathonTheOfficeofAlumnaeRelationsandDevelopmentisdelightedtoannouncethekickoffoftheSweetBriarFund(thenewnameoftheannualgivingprogram).December1-3,studentsconductedamini-phonathon.Thesmallandmightyteamcalledhistoricdonorstoupdatealumnaeonwhatishappeningoncampus.ManythankstothestudentcallersandourPhonathonmanager,CourtneyDwyer’16forgreatdiligencebeforetheyheadintoReadingDaysandfinalexams.
Tomakeagiftnow,pleasevisitsbc.edu/gift.DemographicinformationprojectreminderWestillneedyourdemographicinformation!Ourtargetistohave1,400responsesbythenewyear,andwehavealittlelessthan600rightnow.AswementionedinthelastissueofTheBriarWire,oneofthebiggestpointsofinteresttoprospectivestudentsandtheirparentsiswhatouralumnaedoaftertheygraduatefromSweetBriar.Ifyouhavenotdonesoalready,pleasecompleteaquestionnaireregardingyourinformationHEREtohelpuscreateaprofileofouralumnaeforprospectivestudents.RemembertosignupforAlumnifire!SweetBriarisoneofthefoundinginstitutionsofhighereducationontheAlumnifiresocialmediaplatform.Thiswebsiteconnectsalumnaewithcurrentstudentsandotheralumnaetohelpthemfindinternships,jobopportunitiesandconnectwitheachother.Thoseofuswhocurrentlyparticipateareextremelyactive,butwestillneedmorealumnaeto
participate!PleasesignupthroughLinkedInorFacebook(ittakeslessthanaminute!).Findoutmorebyvisitingsweetbriar.alumnifire.com.Note:thename“Alumnifire”isintentional–itisthenameoftheorganization,notsomethingSweetBriarcreated.Weareproudtobealumnaeofawomen’scollegeandtoparticipateinthisnetwork!PilotprogramlaunchingfortheAlumnaeAdmissionsRecruiters(AAR)programTheOfficeofAdmissionsrecentlypurchasednewsoftwarethatwillhelpourAARvolunteersreachprospectivestudentsintheirareas.ThisdatabasematchesthezipcodesandotherprofilingcriteriaofprospectivestudentswithAARswithinthesamearea.Admissionswillexpandtheuseofsoftwaretotargetanddevelopsynergiesbetweenprospectivestudentsandouralumnaebase.ClickheretosignuptobeanAAR.SweetBriarCollegepartnerswithEdelmanSweetBriarCollege’sBoardofDirectorsapprovedarecommendationfromtheadministrationtoemployEdelman,aglobalcommunicationsmarketingfirm,tosupportrecruitmentandcommunicationsefforts,especiallythroughthesocialmediaplatformsmostcommonlyusedbyhighschoolstudents.EdelmanisworkingcloselywiththeofficesofAdmissionsandMedia,MarketingandCommunicationsinacollaborativeefforttoengageprospectivestudents,generatepositiveawarenessandassistthecollegeinmeetingitsfall2016enrollmentgoals.VictoriaRangelGerken’04worksatEdelmanassenioraccountsupervisor.Alumnaeeffortsreinvigorateculturalprogramsoncampus
OnSunday,November8,SweetBriaralumnaJudithGreerSchulz,classof1961,dazzledtheaudienceintheMemorialChapelfortheJanetLowreyGagerConcert.Performingatthepianoalongsidemezzo-sopranoEllenHinkson,JudyandherperformancepartnerpresentedworksbyBach,Rachmaninoff,BartókandasongcyclebyRobertSchumann.Inadditiontoprovidinguniqueculturalexperiencesforstudentsandmembersofthelocalcommunity,eventslikethesealsohelpbringcampusbacktolife.AlyciaHugo(flute)andSeanBeavers(guitar)willperformtogetherinthenextconcertintheseries,whichwilltakeplaceonSunday,February7at3pminMemorialChapel.UpdatesfromtheRollingStoneTourIntheSeptemberissueofTheBriarWire,wepromisedyouanupdateontheseriesofPresidentStone’smeetingsaroundtheUnitedStates.WearehappytoreportthatPresidentStonehasnowvisitedCharlotte,NC;Atlanta,GA;NewYorkCity,NY;Philadelphia,PA;Dallas,HoustonandAustin,TX;Birmingham,AL;andWashington,DC.In2016,thetourcontinuesintheBayArea,CA;Florida;Baltimore,MD;SanAntonio,TXandtheUnitedKingdom.Ifyouliveinanyoftheseareasandareinterestedinattendingtheseevents,pleaseemailDonnaDoddatddodd@sbc.eduattheOfficeofAlumnaeRelationsandDevelopmenttobeconnectedwiththatevent’shostteam.VixenVoices:StudentsemulateAlumnaeSweetWorkWeeksinSweetDayofService
OnSunday,November15,astudent-ledprogramwelcomed46students,faculty,staffandalumnaeandcompleted30projectsduringaSweetDayofServiceorganizedbytheStudentGovernmentAssociation(SGA).Projectsincludedremovingleavesanddebrisfromacademicbuildingsanddorms,weeding,windowcleaning,rearrangingfurniture,removingoldposters,cleaningtrails,maintainingbricks,cleaningtheChapel,straighteningthelibraryandmore.YoucanseephotosthatSGAtookoftheprojectshere.ManythankstoallwhoparticipatedandtheSGAfororganizingthisspecialday!CareerServicesPanelOnNovember11,theOfficeofCareerServiceshostedaFieldMajorSpecificCareerEventattheConferenceCenter.Fivealumnaeandtheparentofanalumnadiscussedtheirexperiencesinthenaturalsciences,healthsciencesandtheenvironmentwithstudents.Manythankstothosewhoparticipated:RebeccaPennyHumphrey,PhD'08,MeganMaloney'08,AnnKaysTsuji,PhD'96,ShannonO'NeillBeasley'02,MorganFranke'13andMaryAlice"Cookie"PapadimitriouPA'84.Ifyouwouldliketoparticipateinfuturecareerservicespanels,pleasecontactDJStanhopeatdjstanhope@sbc.edu.AlumnaeeffortscreditedinRoanokeTimesTheRoanokeTimes’SundayeditorialputaspotlightonSweetBriar’srecruitingeffortsthisfall—withawell-deservednodtothehundredsofalumnaewhohavebeen“fanningoutacrossthecountrytomaketheircasetothepeoplewhowilltrulydecidetheschool’sfate:highschoolgirls.”
Checkoutthefulleditorialhere.NotesfromIndiana:Analumnaesalutetotheclassof2019DetailsonthehistoryofSweetBriarandtheFletcherandWilliamsfamilies.Inthe1910editionofTheBriarPatch,Virginia“Jennie”HurtTurner’11wroteanopenlettertotheclassof1910titled“TotheThirty-Six.”Thisletterwaswrittentothe36originalmembersoftheclassandbegins YoustudentswhosawthelightsofSweetBriarblazeforthefirst
timeontheeveningofSeptember27,1906;youwhohavegonetheuntrodway;youwhohaveknownthehardshipswhichbesetthebeginnersofgreatthings;toyou,thethirty-six,belongsthenameofpioneers.Forbyyourperseverance,yourenergy,andyourlove,youhavebeguntheplanuponwhichwearenowbuildinganduponwhichfuturegenerationswillcontinuetobuild.
Totheremarkableclassof2019,whoarepioneersasweenterthenext114years(andbeyond),wearegratefulfortheir“perseverance,energy,andlove”andwesalutetheir“pioneer”spirit!StayuptodateonSweetBriarinthenews!FormorestoriesaboutSweetBriarCollegeinthenews,bookmarksbc.edu/news.SetupGooglealertstogetanemailaboutanynewsarticlementioningSweetBriarCollege.Tosetupyouralerts,visitgoogle.com/alertsandenter“SweetBriarCollege”inthesearchbar.YoucansetthefrequencyoftheemailsyoureceiverelatedtoSweetBriar.
