Donations from ExxonMobil
to benefit schools, thanks to University alumni
By Morgan Conklin
Summer
Reporter
Purdue University schools received around $220,000
in donations from ExxonMobil on May 14 to be used for general purposes.
The company has a matching gift program in effect,
where employees of ExxonMobile donate money to the University. Following
their donation, Purdue sends a form to ExxonMobile to alert them of
the donation by the employee. Then, ExxonMobile will send a check
back to Purdue as a gift to the University.
Most programs will match the employees’
gift in a 1:1 ratio. For example, for every $1 that an employee donates,
the company will donate another $1. But ExxonMobil has a 3:1 ratio
in effect. They will donate $3 to the University for every $1 that
an employee donates.
The donation was a collaborative effort among
employees of ExxonMobil, many of whom are graduates of the University.
Contributors decide what they want their donation to support.
Many of Purdue’s schools were represented;
however, a good portion of the money donated will go to support the
Schools of Engineering because many of ExxonMobil’s employees
are graduated chemical engineers.
The Chemical Engineering building is currently
being remodeled with help from the ExxonMobil donation. Pam Ritter,
director of development-technology, said the University needs to look
to outside resources for funding. "Purdue really needs our gifts
from alumni and donors to go to the next level as a University,"
she said.
With these donations, the students in chemical
engineering will be better equipped to serve as employees after graduation.
Tina McConnell, director of alumni and corporation
fund-raising activities in the school of chemical engineering, said,
"The generous match will help support the school’s effort
to raise $25 million. In turn the school will be better able to provide
the equipment, instrumentation and instructional laboratories that
our students must have in order to become the graduates that companies
such as ExxonMobil need."
Grant Flora, a writer for the Purdue University
News Service, said this is a good way for employees of ExxonMobil
to get involved. "It is a great way to give back to the University.
Companies that hire our graduates and have programs that are set in
place to give matching gifts to the University provide a win-win situation
for all," he said.
Any company can become a matching gift provider
and the alumni can work together or alone to make donations. Many
alumni decide to make donations to Purdue because of the positive
experiences they have had at the University.
Since the companies recruited these employees
right out of college and allowed them to put their degree to work,
the graduates of Purdue are very appreciative to the University, Flora
said.
In all, Purdue receives matching employee donations
from more than 675 companies each year. These donations total more
than $2.5 million annually. Purdue was one of the top 20 out of 950
colleges that ExxonMobil represents.
