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OFFICE OF INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT (OIA) - HISTORY
The Early Years (1988-2001):
With the establishment of the
Mater Dei Foundation in 1988, the development of a comprehensive
plan for the financial future of the school began. Carol
Hustedde through the newly formed Foundation began the Annual
Fund Drive. Norb Ottensmeier was hired to work to establish a
development program for the school and discovered that the most
overwhelming task to be faced was the establishment of a data
base from the several sources that were in operation at the time
and the beginning of a coordinated effort at the various fund
raising activities and events. In 1991, Catholic School
Management was hired as a consultant firm by the Diocese and the
schools were encouraged to sign on. Mater Dei took advantage of
the opportunity and after an audit by CSM a Development Office
was in place by the 1992-1993 school year. Fred Rakers was
named Director of the office and developed the Phon-a-thon as an
addition to the Annual Fund Drive. He also began the VITA
newsletter and Silver Knights helpers. He ran a summer Softball
/ Volleyball Tournament for Alumni that ran for several years in
conjunction with a BBQ. He also instituted the Memorial Card
which is still used at Funeral Homes in the area as a tribute
made to the Mater Dei Foundation in memory of the deceased.
Prior to the establishment of the Development Office, Bill
McTaggert was the person most responsible for organizing an
Alumni organization as such and helping Classes to plan
reunions. In 1996 Kathy Huelsmann was hired part-time to help
Fred in the Development Office and in 1998, Kathy’s position
became full-time. Kathy first began by doing data entry and
gradually increased her involvement to include all she is doing
now.
President/Principal Years
(2001-2004):
Catholic School Management
suggested the introduction of a new administrative approach in
the President / Principal structure. This structure had been
found to be successful for many Catholic Secondary schools. The
role of the President was to be the connection between the
school and the community it served, as well as to coordinate the
fund raising and special events held by the school. The
Principal would be involved in the everyday on location school
matters. Ray Kauling also began working with the Calendar
Drive, Bingo and several special events. It was during this
period that Mater Dei held a Capital Campaign which succeeded in
the addition of a new practice gym, weight room, band facilities
and updating of the science labs.
An Interim Year 2004-2005:
With the resignation of the
President and no replacement, the work of development fell to
Principal, Dennis Litteken and Kathy Huelsmann with the
continued assistance of Ray Kauling with the Calendar Drive and
Bingo, which he continues to direct, and help with special
events. Kathy did a fantastic job holding the office together
in the back small office of the Administrative Wing.
The Office of Institutional
Advancement is created on July 1, 2005:
Of
the five needs which came out of the Strategic Planning process
in the Spring of 2005, the hiring of a full-time director and
the establishment of an Office of Institutional Advancement was
the top priority. On June 1, 2005, Fr. Chuck Tuttle was named
Director and hired full-time for the position. I had been
teaching at Mater Dei over the course of twenty-seven years,
beginning in August of 1975. I spent three years at Gibault
High School from 1982-1985. I taught both full-time and
part-time during those years in both the Religion and Social
Studies Departments. I was Class Advisor to the Class of 1981
for their four years and the Class of 1985, their freshman
year.
I was pastor of St. Augustine’s Breese and St. Anthony’s
Beckemeyer, a position from which I stepped aside from the day
to day administrative operations when I took the position at
Mater Dei; but I remain as Pastor and provider of Sacramental
ministry and remain in residence at St. Augustine’s.
The first thing that I found
myself doing was attending a Graduate Program in Catholic School
Development that was held at Notre Dame in South Bend. This
program introduced me to the various aspects of development and
advancement. It was a very enlightening learning experience put
on by Catholic School Management. Upon returning Kathy and I put
together the Golf Tournament Results Newsletter that was sent to
all who participated in the 2005 Golf Tournament. We thought it
would be a good idea to let everyone know who participated what
the results of the Tournament were. The first big project,
which is to be a yearly process, is putting together the
Comprehensive Advancement Plan. This multi-paged document gives
an overview of the Office and the events and activities that the
Office either conducts or helps with.
It is a working document that
actually gets modified from day to day as we work on the
planning and execution of activities. It is basically an
internal document that is reviewed by the Administration, School
Board and Foundation. Copies are available for review in the
Advancement Office.
The Office of Institutional
Advancement has put together a web-page linked to the Mater Dei
Home web-page (www.materdei.breese.il.us)
. From our OIA page you can link to a calendar of events, Alumni
and Reunion information, a copy of the current VITA
and Annual Report on-line (pdf format), and information about
Planned Giving.
Of course we have an
Office Personnel Section
to introduce visitors to the Office and to Kathy and
myself. It’s a way of getting to know us and how to reach us.
In the
Calendar of Events Section,
we are attempting to list all the special events and their
dates, as well as some pictures from those events which have
already taken place. It is a good resource to help you
plan your calendar, so we can see you at our school’s fund
raising and promotional activities.
You will find in the
Reunions Section
that we are trying to list the information concerning 5 year
increment reunions. We are also instituting a Principal’s
Trophy that will be given to a Class each year in the 5 year
increment that has the highest percentage of participation among
its members for the Annual Fund Drive. If you are planning a
Reunion, please let Kathy or I know so the information can be
placed on the web-page.
Did you misplace that last
VITA,
well you will find it on-line. It is our attempt to further
spread the news of who we are and what we are doing as a school
community. You can also find
Past Issues of the VITA
on line as well.
The
Annual Report
for the past year can also be found on-line. This lists all the
alumni (by class) and friends of Mater Dei who contributed to
the Fund Drive the previous year. The Annual Fund Drive is a
great source of revenue for three areas: general school
expenses for the year; tuition assistance for our students and
contributions to the Foundation which is the endowment that
helps to secure the future of the school.
We are beginning a historic
giving and legacy society which we are calling
“The Mother of Perpetual Help Society.”
A link to that information can also be found on the Office’s
web-page. The historic giving will be calculated from 1988,
back from when records can be found in the data base. There is
also a link on the Mater Dei home-page to information regarding
different types of
Planned Giving.
This information can be very useful when doing your Estate
planning.
And finally there is a link to a
Donor’s Bill of Rights
which indicates the ethical standards that we in the Office of
Institutional Advancement at Mater Dei High School pledge to you
the donor to honor and keep.
We hope that you find this
overview to be both interesting and informative. Perhaps it is
the Social Studies influence, but I think an historical overview
is always important since you can only understand the present by
knowing the past. It is my desire during my tenure as Director
to continue to build upon the excellent foundation of the past
to help secure a brilliant future for Mater Dei High School.
(Above article
was published in the
Fall, 2005 issue of the VITA.)
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