Image used from Pixabay.com
So what exactly does
the University of Minnesota Alumni Association do?
This
was a question I asked myself one evening as I opened my mail. One of the
envelopes was from the Alumni Association, encouraging me to sign up for a
BankAmericaCard cash reward. This wasn’t the first invitation I had received to
enter a credit card agreement with Bank of America.
I’m
a member of the Alumni Association (AA), but most of my engagement with the
organization comes from reading a periodic magazine it publishes and receiving
consumer offers by mail like this. The CEO and President of the AA, Lisa Lewis,
wrote:
“Dear Forrester T Pack,
You have very high standards when it
comes to the financial products you choose. That’s why we’re proud to offer you
the University of Minnesota Alumni Association BankAmericard Cash Rewards Visa
credit card which allows you to earn valuable cash rewards on purchases. Plus,
by using this card, you help benefit University of Minnesota Alumni Association
at no additional cost to you.”
The letter went on to show the incentives of using this credit card: 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale club. And.... drumroll... 3% cash back on gas! Three more questions popped into my head simultaneously:
1. Why
was the Alumni Association encouraging members like me to sign up for a credit
card with Bank of America? What exactly does this have to do with the
University itself?
2. With
most scientists and global citizens worried about the damaging environmental
effects of heavy fossil fuel exploitation, why would an organization such as
the AA partner with a unit like Bank of America to encourage more usage of
fossil fuels?
3. With
all that in mind, could I continue to support the AA? Is it a still a net
positive, after having more answers?
What were these
answers? I reached out to AA and University of Minnesota administrators; these
officials were helpful in explaining the nuts and bolts of the AA. I was eager
to talk with board members as well.
The
Numbers
The Alumni Association is a non-profit organization with networks all
around the globe.
A governing board of 24 members oversees operations and a 2017 budget of just
over $4.8 million.
“The
majority of Alumni Association funding comes from endowments, contributions,
advertising revenue, affinity relationships, support from the University of
Minnesota, memberships, and program fees,” Samantha Massaglia wrote me in an
e-mail. Massaglia is the AA’s Director of Communications.
After
talking to Julie Tonneson, the U’s Budget Director, I learned more about the AA’s
funding.
“The
source of [financial] support is what we call ‘Central Reserves’, which is
funded by earnings on the University’s invested cash,” Tonneson explained.
University
support for the AA has been steadily increasing, based off the fiscal year data
Tonneson supplied:
2015:
$596,800
2016: $604, 980 2017:
$804,980
Who
dat? The Association
The Board of
Directors works on a volunteer, unpaid basis and includes
members such as University of Minnesota-Twin Cities President Eric Kaler, AA chairman
Dan McDonald, and MSA President Abeer Syedah.
The
organization helps connect over 466,000 alumni, produces a periodic magazine,
and fosters
career networks. Abeer Syedah provided insight into her
unique role as part of two powerful campus organizations.
“As
a student member, my experience is different. Compensation as a student is
ideal, but I leverage that by often not attending meetings, as the time
commitments are quite long and my schedule as MSA President makes that
difficult,” Syedah wrote in an e-mail.
When
I asked her about other members, she wrote that she thought most of them were
“comfortably employed.” That was something I wasn't aware of: the University isn't directly paying the members of the AA, rather supporting the operations and budget of the AA.
“And
pay may make them more liable to the U”, she added.
The
card and partners
When
I addressed my concerns about the card, Massaglia explained that the AA was
aware of what Bank of America was promoting with this particular product, and
that the Association still agreed with the partnership.
“The Alumni Association seeks partnerships
that provide the most value to our members”, the director wrote.
Bank of America has been in the news lately as an investor to the controversial Dakota Access
Pipeline project in North Dakota. Some cities are considering divesting from
financial firms invested in the project, as reported by The
Nation’s Jimmy Tobias.
On its website, the AA also lists Liberty Mutual, Avis,
and Budget as corporate partners. On-campus partners include the Weisman Art
Museum, the Raptor Center, and the University Bookstore. All of these and more
can be found on the “Member Advantages” page.
Syedah said that for her part, she wasn’t aware of the
AA’s partnership with Bank of America, or the Cash Reward signature card.
Pluses
over the minuses?
So do the benefits of the AA outweigh the needs to possibly restructure
its relationships or partnerships? What are some additional tangible positives
of the AA’s mission?
“Connecting students to alumni,” Syedah wrote. “Keeping alumni engaged
with their alma maters and getting them donating.”
She also believes that student advocacy is stronger when
connected to “the incredible power of alumni”, hence her service in the AA.
“Alumni are major stakeholders in the U and often,
they’re listened to more than students. Alumni who are donors have capital on
campus,” she explained. “When we’re aligned, our work is more successful.”
My thoughts
As a graduate of the
University and member of the Alumni Association, it was important for me to see
and hear details of this organization: who the members are, what they do, how
they impact the university.
Based off the
information given, it appears approximately 1/5 of the 2017 operating budget is
financed by University support. Although it may not bring maximum financial
punch immediately, can the Association look for more environmentally
sustainable options, in order to begin the transition that’s sorely needed in
other sectors of society? This is a chance to be a leader in the environmental
realm, and the journey has to start with some sort of step, preferably with
whom the organization partners and receives financial support from.
One of the slogans of
the University is “driven to discover”, after all. This is why I hope members
of the Association and the student body continues to learn about ways to make a
positive impact. Can the Association pursue other partnerships or financial
options that contain a more healthy relationship with the environment?
The
fact that all of the members are unpaid volunteers shows their dedication to
helping the U. The fact that most members have some sort of academic and
professional background in marketing, communications or finance displays the
impact they could have on the University’s narrative regarding our relationship
to the environment.
I think a great
opportunity is there to look hard at the institutional and organizational
relationships the AA maintains and modify them to advance a key scientific and
social initiative, that being environmental sustainability.
Forrester
Pack is a graduate of the University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass
Communication. He is a freelance writer in Minneapolis.
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