A donor recognition project we created 15 years ago forms a great illustration of the potential for donor recognition to function as an investment. It continues to inspire additional contributions to this day.

In 2000, Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, was building a new athletics facility – the Capital Center. We were commissioned to design an alumni recognition mural for the outside of the building.

 

We developed a series of ceramic “archways” depicting iconic images from the University: the gateway to campus, the school seal, the Lutheran seal, and the original gym building.

Our clients used the design extensively to promote the campaign. This in turn helped the University to meet their goal and exceed it — by $ 2 million.

We worked closely with their architectural firm to have the arches set into cast stone framing that melds seamlessly with the building’s architectural detailing. Donor names are in glass panels below the ceramic work. These glass panels are removable, making it easy to add names as needed.

A month after the mural was dedicated, our clients had received an additional $50,000 in donations from people asking, “How much to get on the wall?”

This donor wall is now considered an iconic element of the campus. Students and alumni know it and love it. It is lit up at night so that it can be seen from a block and a half away, and it continues to prompt alumni to ask how to “get onto the Arches.”

Want to talk about how we could do this for you? Let’s make a phone date – 215-849-7010.