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New giving levels and new eligibility criteria for Ut Prosim Society

Effective April 1, 2001, the university is using new eligibility criteria to elevate its highest donors to a newly established level of donor recognition. In 2002, those individuals who have made lifetime contributions of
$1 million or morecontributions that have been received rather than pledgedwill become charter members of the President's Circle, a new level of the Ut Prosim Society, the university's most prestigious donor recognition organization.

"We believe this new level will appropriately recognize a very special, select group of individuals," said Elizabeth Flanagan, vice president of development and university relations, when she announced the creation of the President's Circle at this year's Ut Prosim induction dinner. "Their outstanding philanthropy has been of immeasurable benefit to Virginia Tech, its students, its faculty, and its programs."

New eligibility criteria will also apply to the society's other three giving levels. At the Benefactor level, the giving threshold will rise from $50,000 to $100,000, with donors qualifying with lifetime giving of $100,000 to $249,999. The Senior Benefactor level will increase from $200,000 to $250,000, with a donor's lifetime giving totaling between $250,000 and $499,999. And at the Distinguished Benefactor level, a donor's lifetime contributions must add up to $500,000 to $999,999. Again, contributions, including matching gifts, must be received by the university in order for donors to qualify for membership at all levels.

As with the President's Circle, these new eligibility criteria were effective April 1, 2001, with the exception of the Benefactor level, where donors have until December 31, 2001, to qualify for Ut Prosim membership in 2002 under the previous criteria of giving or pledging $50,000 within a five-year period.

The Ut Prosim Society currently has a membership of 762 individuals.

Ut Prosim Society welcomes 109 new members

The Ut Prosim Society celebrated its 15^th anniversary by adding a record 109 new members to its ranks during fiscal year 2000-2001. At its annual induction dinner on April 28, the society also recognized 12 donors who advanced to Distinguished Benefactor, the highest of the organization's three giving levels, as well as a donor who moved up to Senior Benefactor, the second highest level.

This year's black-tie dinner, held in the Commonwealth Ballroom of the Squires Student Center, drew nearly 500 individuals and featured brief remarks by President Charles Steger and Rector James Turner, both of whom presented new members in attendance with a crystal memento symbolic of society membership. The university also announced the creation of the new President's Circle.

With the addition of this year's new members, the society now totals 762 individuals. Flanagan says the growth of the society is indicative of the enthusiastic support donors have accorded the university in recent years. "The rise in membership shows that alumni and friends recognize the university's significant achievements and that they endorse our goals for the future," she says.