Southern Methodist University

Southern Methodist University is a private liberal arts school in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1911 by what is now the United Methodist Church, this nonsectarian school prides itself on its small class size and high ranking in numerous guides and reports.

As with many educational institutions, SMU had renovations and new building construction throughout the campus, and needed to tap into their 100,000 worldwide alumni base and generous donors to offset the funding of this new construction. They were looking for a unique way to thank people who made donations at a certain discretionary level, as well as to find a way to connect donors and persons of influence with their own SMU experience. As the University is small and had a loyal and nostalgic alumni and donor base, they decided to work with ChemArt on a collectible program.

Working with the Director of Donor Relations, ChemArt began their first collectible campaign with SMU in 2002. The University presented the ornament to donors who provided a minimum monetary donation to support the reconstruction of one of the university buildings. They chose to create the ornament of Perkins Chapel, which represented not only the history and memories for the donors, but also the transformation their money was supporting. The campaign was a huge success. They sold out of their initial order and had to reorder to backfill donor response.

In successive years, SMU has taken on multiple ornament campaigns, in one calendar year, not only for building reconstruction, but also for their annual campaigns, and as a commemorative for major events, such as the President’s Open House affair. In 2006 SMU will have three different programs- the Embry Building reconstruction (for donations over a certain monetary amount), The Dedman Center for Sports (given to all donors for their recent $25 million expansion) and Kirby Hall construction (given to donors as a thank you gift). The ornaments are always marketed internally as limited edition, one-time-only items that are not for sale, which also encourages donations and attendance at special events.

Paige Eubanks-Barrow, Director of Donor Relations at SMU says that the ornament program “provided certain campus leadership personnel with the beginnings of something they hope will become a tradition.” She continues, “As we continue to build, …each new building is a showcase of our success and the ornaments make a great token of remembrance. Donor relations professionals struggle with creative ways to steward donors to building funds. This makes the process simpler.”

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