Macaulay Connections

For more than 30 years, the Los Angeles Times has had a strong presence in New York City, with as many as a dozen journalists stationed here at any one time. Gifted teams of Times reporters have long been covering business, media, culture, crime, government and other topics out of the paper's New York bureau.

In the process, they amassed a sizeable collection of books. Packages from publishing houses seeking reviews arrived almost daily. Reporters used the books for research on their beats and filed them by category in the bureau's library. Over time, the paper collected a particularly impressive array of titles about New York history and architecture, as well as books by the city's most famous storytellers.

The LA Times donated more than 2,000 books to Macaulay. This is just part of the collection housed in Macaulay's Commons.

When the bureau relocated in the spring of 2009 from its longtime home at 2 Park Avenue to new space at 220 West 42nd Street, Times staff realized there would not be enough space to house the entire collection. Unwilling to abandon more than 2,000 titles, New York Bureau Chief Geraldine Baum began a hunt to find them the right home.

Baum had written a story for The Times about Macaulay and its mission in the CUNY tradition of educating New York's brightest, particularly the children of immigrants. During a visit to Macaulay's 67th Street townhouse, she noticed that while it was well-appointed, the school's headquarters was missing a crucial element for a great education: books.

At the time, The Commons had tall but empty shelves. So Baum called the dean and made an offer to donate the books-and a collection at Macaulay was born!

"I hope the students enjoy browsing the Los Angeles Times collection," Baum said.
"It's eclectic but filled with gems. It also tells you a lot about the world of New York publishing and what it has produced over the last few decades."

The students are indeed enjoying the collection as either a break from their studies or as they come to the building for other events. We are indeed grateful for this thoughtful gift.

Macaulay Honors College continues to work hard to encourage donations as part of the public/private partnership that funds our mission. In the last calendar year, we raised a total of $3,026,348 in cash collected and in new pledges. In the first quarter of 2010 we received new cash gifts and payments against existing pledges totaling $81,688. Our alumni have proven to be remarkably supportive of Macaulay, with donor participation rates that rival any of the other schools in CUNY. We are also particularly pleased about the growth of our donor recognition society, Friends of Macaulay, and that so many of the parents of current students have elected to make gifts to support Macaulay and to join Friends of Macaulay.

Friends of Macaulay celebrates unrestricted gifts of $1,000 each year (with special recognition at the $10,000/year level). At many colleges, a donor society is about thanking people for their generous gifts. At Macaulay, we have a deeper purpose: we want to find people who wish to become actively involved in our unique mission.  We are building an organization where parents, students, alumni, and volunteers can become engaged in issues concerning higher education in New York. For our volunteers, we are small enough to able to include them in a range of activities and discussions, all of which highlight the tremendous talent and promise of our students. For our students, this kind of interaction often provides networking opportunities to move ahead in their careers.

Soliciting membership in Friends of Macaulay is also the primary way that we raise money to support Macaulay Honors College.  As the cost of higher education spirals upward to new levels each year, we see access to education being foreclosed to increasing numbers of students.  The crucial problem that Macaulay is addressing is the choking off of practical access to education to some of our brightest urban students, who we know are numerous and who can make the difference for our future. Although it may sound cliché, our future is in their hands.

At the same time as education costs rise, the economic downturn has precipitated a growing budget crisis in virtually every state.  Over the next several years, public higher education in New York State will feel serious constraints.  Programs will be cut and scholarship opportunities focused on academic merit will face serious threat.  Macaulay Honors College has always been funded through a public/private partnership, but at this crucial point in our history we know that only philanthropy can preserve opportunity for the brightest and most promising minds in the system.

Please consider becoming more involved with the extraordinary experiment in urban public higher education at Macaulay Honors College. We have a wealth of opportunities to engage you.

January 2010

Macaulay Honors College was initially funded by a small group of generous investors who endorsed Chancellor Matthew Goldstein’s vision for a center of excellence for undergraduate education within The City University.  Unlike many public colleges that rely on their past alumni classes for supporting gifts, Macaulay has only a few graduating classes and they have only recently embarked on professional careers.  Some exceptionally generous alumni leaders have supported us and we have been encouraged by a number of parents who see Macaulay as an ongoing partner in building the value of their childrens’ education.  Many people have been generous to the College and we are appreciative.

In the last year, we have made significant strides in professionalizing our fundraising and advancement efforts.  Some of our milestones include:

• Continuation of institutional grant getting and renewals, with $684,719 in cash and pledges secured last calendar year
• Installation of our first donor database for professional management of fundraising
• Significant upgrade of our annual giving program (tripling mailed pieces this December)
• Launch of a donor web page including on-line guidance to attract bequests, matching gifts, and other sophisticated giving interests
• Establishment of an e-giving function including credit card processing
• Restructuring of stewardship, recognition and naming for institutional gifts
• Plans for a committee structure to increase access points and activate volunteer leaders
• Launch of our signature donor club, Friends of Macaulay

This last achievement, our donor club, has become an organization quite unique in CUNY because of the range of participants. As we grow and seek different sources of philanthropic dollars, we find that many New York City leaders are responding see us as an important element of building the City’s competitive workforce. They are increasingly aware of the importance – and fragility – of public higher education. Through the concept of Friends of Macaualy we have found a way to invite non-alumni volunteers into our fold with our alumni and other insiders.

Friends of Macaulay is a donor recognition society that celebrates unrestricted gifts of $1,000 each year (with special recognition at the $10,000/year level). Friends of Macaulay isn’t just about thanking generous donors. Our alumni base includes many bright ambitious graduates who need networking opportunities to move ahead in their careers. Through Friends of Macaulay we are building a corps of enthusiastic donor club members who involve themselves in our growth and who advocate for us. We believe that our non-alumni members of Friends of Macaulay see their interest in the College validated through association with bright Macaulay alumni and students.

Please consider becoming more involved with the extraordinary experiment in urban public higher education at Macaulay Honors College. We have a wealth of opportunities to engage you.