Stewardship The process whereby an institution cares for and protects its philanthropic support - its gifts and those who give them - in a way that responds to the donor's expectations and respects the act of giving.

The College of Agricultural Sciences Stewardship Initiative
The mission of the College of Agricultural Sciences Stewardship Initiative is to facilitate the institutionalization of stewardship within the college by providing the infrastructure needed to effectively manage and steward the college's philanthropic success.

Why the Stewardship Initiative?
The Stewardship Initiative is aligned with the College of Agricultural Sciences Strategic Plan for 2005-2008, specifically with the third goal to "strengthen meaningful communication and mutual education with current and new stakeholders." Our philanthropic success during the Grand Destiny Campaign from 1996 to 2003 has provided the college with wonderful opportunities for growth. Through the generosity of our donors, the college more than doubled the book value of our endowment and established 164 new endowed and annual funds to support students, faculty, programs, and research. Currently, the college manages and awards over 330 endowed and annually supported funds that have been created from the generosity of our donors.

While the college has traditionally done an excellent job keeping our donors informed of the impact of their generosity, the success of the Grand Destiny Campaign requires us to assess our current practices so we can continue to provide our donors with the attention and information they deserve. Our goal is to provide the resources and support to college faculty and staff which will allow them to continue to show our stakeholders that we are the "college that cares."

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