Kennesaw State’s University Development hosted the seventh annual President’s Parliament Breakfast at The Commons on Friday, Aug. 5 to give thanks to the faculty and staff members for their commitment to donating to the university.
After breakfast was served, KSU interim President Houston Davis and a few others spoke to the invitees to show gratitude for their consistent donations over the past years.
“On behalf of all of the students, I want to say thank you,” Davis said at the conclusion of his speech.
Toward the end of the event, milestone awards were presented to the employees, who had regularly given to the university for more than 15 years.
Ann Key, the director of advancement services in the development office, explained that there is no specific criteria on the donation process, and employees can give to any department of their choice.
“You can give unrestricted, which means it goes to wherever the need is greatest,” Key told The Sentinel. “It could be scholarships. It could be some other expense the university has…You can really give where your heart is.”
Key has been an employee at KSU for 10 years and donated to the university annually.
Caryn Young, the senior director for donor relations, expressed the purpose of the breakfast and its motivation.
“[The breakfast] motivates the people who are currently giving to do more,” Young said, “and to go back and tell their colleagues so that their colleagues start giving.”
Besides encouraging more donations among faculty, Young said the event is about thanking the donors.
“Primarily, it is a thank you event,” she said. “We want to thank them for what they have done.”
KSU also hosts other events throughout the year to give thanks to other tiers of donations.
“For people who give at the president’s circle level we have an event for them in the spring,” said Young. “That means they give at least a thousand dollars annually.”
When an employee wants to name their own scholarship, they must give a certain amount of money before it can receive its own name. For scholarship donors, KSU hosts lunches in the fall, which gives the donors a chance to meet their students.
