2002 Annual Report of the Resource Development Committee

2002 Annual Report of the
Resource Development Committee

Memorandum
To: AAA Executive Board
From: Larry Rzepka, Director of Resource Development
Date: January 22, 2003
Re: 2002 Year in Review

Listed below are some highlights of the AAA resource development efforts for both the Resource Development Committee and my department for the year 2002.
1. Total number of donors rose from 264 in 2001 to 387 in 2002 - an increase of 46%.
2. Total gifts/pledges (excluding large gifts of $50,000 or higher) rose from $25,707 in 2001 to $48,942 in 2002 - an increase of 90%.
3. The average size gift rose from $97 in 2001 to $126 in 2002 - an increase of 30%.
4. A new Association funding initiative was endorsed by the RDC and approved by the AAA Executive Board to develop an anthropological portal concept - a knowledge gateway on the world wide web that would assist us in digitizing scholarly publications and permit scholars of all disciplines to access this work for research purposes.
5. A $50,000 planning grant was received from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to provide a research study into our current publications program and to develop a suggested business-planning model to proceed with the portal concept.
6. Prospects have been identified to cultivate and solicit for the Educational Outreach funding initiative that was approved in late 2001.
7. Grant preparation support for the Race & Human variation funding initiative was provided to Dr. Peggy Overbey in her preparation of a $3.2 million dollar request to the National Science Foundation.
8. Grant administration support was provided to the AAA Human Rights Committee in administering their $5,000 grant from the Ford Foundation in support of a panel session at the 2002 Annual Meeting.
9. Potential prospects have been identified to cultivate and solicit in support of increasing the Minority Dissertation Scholarship Program.
10. As directed by the Long-Range Planning Committee, a development briefing was held at the 2002 Annual Meeting to discuss the major funding initiatives of the AAA; potential section fundraising guidelines; and how best to collaborate with the AAA sections to assist them in their efforts to pursue outside revenue sources.
Observations:
* The AAA membership prefers to donate to specific projects/funds as opposed to providing the Association with an unrestricted gift. This will affect development planning and has been taken into account in operational budgeting.
* An increase in gifts from the leadership structure of the AAA has been encouraging - including a strong effort to have our past-presidents become active donors. A strategic plan designed to target more of the AAA leadership to become contributors should be considered.
* Since many of our members still are unsure about contributing on an annual basis because of already paying dues, consideration should be given to launching a firm effort to start a "deferred giving" society of some sort.

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