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Foundation Officers Paul E . Harner Chair Jan M . Hayden Vice Chair Eric W . Lam Secretary Rebecca A . Roof Treasurer
Foundation Directors Marc Abrams Russell M . Blain Hon . Sheri Bluebond Hon . Janet E . Bostwick E . Frank Childress , Jr . Jeanne P . Darcey Guy A . Davis Kenneth H . Eckstein Rozanne M . Giunta Craig Goldblatt Ronald F . Greenspan Richard F . Holley Vincent E . Lazar David E . Leta Paul S . Singerman Prof . Elizabeth Tashjian J . Scott Victor William L . Wallander David A . Warfield Richard L . Wasserman Hon . Judith H . Wizmur ( Ret .)
Senior Director Richard Carmody
Ex Officio Melissa S . Kibler
Executive Director Shari A . Bedker
From the Foundation Chair
Never Happier – To Have Been Dead Wrong . . . .
Paul E . Harner , Sheppard Mullin Chair , American College of Bankruptcy Foundation
Prognostication has never been my long suit . But I ’ ve never been happier to have been simply wrong .
A year ago , I predicted in this column that the 2020 Foundation fundraising campaign would be our “ most challenging . . . in memory ,” particularly given the “ overwhelming number of demands for your charitable dollars ” in the unprecedented environment engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic . And that certainly proved true .
I also warned College leadership , albeit not for general consumption , that we accordingly should expect anemic fundraising results . Happily , about that , I could not have been further off the mark .
Thanks to your incredible generosity , gifts to the Foundation for 2020 totaled a record $ 389,035 , substantially ( in fact , 18 %) in excess of our announced , College-wide goal of $ 330,000 . This result surpassed the prior record of $ 345,964 , set in 2019 , by a wonderful $ 43,071 , or 12 %. It also represented the fifth consecutive year that the campaign ’ s result broke the magic $ 300,000 barrier .
Our Fellows also contributed to the Foundation in substantially increased individual amounts . The average individual gift in 2020 increased by 13.7 % to $ 720.44 ( versus $ 622.63 in 2019 ). Likewise , Four Figure Club donations of $ 1,000 or more increased significantly , by 27.8 %, from 133 in 2019 to an impressive 170 in 2020 .
I join the entire Foundation board in thanking you for your support , particularly in such a challenging year . Our Fellows ’ generosity was particularly heartening in 2020 ( and continues to be so in 2021 ): for obvious reasons , the pandemic has produced unprecedented demand for the pro bono legal services provided by the Foundation ’ s grantees . And you answered the bell .
I also want to thank those who worked so tirelessly to make our 2020 campaign such a resounding success , including our