PROFILES

Describe your transition from U of C students into professionals who were interested in giving back to the College.

Ryan: Kurt Kimmerling, AB’02, and I were close friends in college and together co-founded Eckhart Consulting (a student organization) in 2002. Since then, we have continuously stayed involved on campus through programs such as Eckhart and Blue Chips and created a loose network of alumnus who have spent time in many of these pre-programs. It was through these endeavors that we have turned an informal network into a group of friends who we have become involved with initiatives such as the Odyssey Scholarship.

Lee: Approximately nine years ago, after graduating, Ryan asked me to begin helping with some of his on-campus programs. Over time this volunteer work led to an even greater participation with the school—programs such as the Alumni Schools Committee and Chicago Society. While I was unaware of many of these volunteer opportunities right after graduating, I have seen a significant shift in the number of programs and students becoming involved with the school. Nine years later, I am seeing a shift of students asking themselves "How can I help?" This transformation has been energizing. All of a sudden, I’m in contact with a network of alumni saying, "Let's help out in any way we can."

It was through this network and school support that Ryan, Kurt, and I came up with the idea that a donation such as this would be a good way to help the school. We began to think about the opportunities and how we could get more people involved with donating to the school—and started to add the numbers in our head. Eventually we said to ourselves, "Well, if we can get fifteen people or so, we can sponsor an Odyssey scholarship." And that's how it happened.

Was the Odyssey program always a clear choice for your giving, or was there some discussion involved?

Lee: I believe that participating on our fifth-year Reunion committee was the first step—it got us to start thinking to ourselves “Wow, look what happens when you actually have a goal.”

The Odyssey Scholarship seemed to have an achievable goal; it was something where you could see results and help drive change within the school. We said to ourselves that we thought there were a lot of young alumni who are eager to help this school. And with opportunities like the Odyssey Challenge, it gave us a way to work together to leverage the resources in a meaningful way.

And did you find that this was a difficult program to sell?

Lee: I wouldn’t necessary call this a “sell.” However, it was my view that asking fellow young alumni to participate in a program such as this was an easier “sell” than asking for donations without a true cause and need for a donation.
Making the call about the Odyssey Scholarship gave me something to actually talk about. I could say, “You could help shape a brilliant mind, help someone who otherwise couldn't get to college.” That’s a lot easier conversation than we have had in the past.

Ryan: You're giving to someone's bottom line. You're helping a student actually attend class and be part of the University community, where they may have some hardship otherwise. And that's an easier sell, I think, because people know that their money is going to be used to directly help someone out with their education.

What benefits do you think Odyssey provides the College?

Lee: It is our belief that the University has to compete for top talent. We compete for some of the brightest minds in the country against the top universities in the world. Helping a student who otherwise could not afford the opportunity to attend Chicago helps the student, it helps the University, and hopefully it will help shape the world with brilliant minds.

Ryan: In order for Chicago to continue to develop and compete, I think it's necessary for us to provide these types of economic programs for the student body, because it's what our competitive set—others such as the Ivy League Institutions—is doing.

Let's talk about the mechanics of putting together the group fund. Was the University a good facilitator in this process?

Lee: The school support was fantastic—they were willing to assist in any way possible. Support from individuals such as James Gallo and Laura Benson (in the U of C’s New York regional office) was incredible. In fact, I would say top-notch. How many other programs could say that they receive follow-ups within 30 minutes of a call, including on weekends?

The school made the process smooth and efficient—a seamless process that anyone could get done. Once we were able to track down the support, the process took a matter of days as opposed to weeks. At one point, we had the entire New York office assisting with the name of the scholarship.

What advice would you give to others interested in putting together a group fund?

Lee: First, find a group with similar goals or motives, something that brings everyone together. For the purposes of our initiative, we reached out to friends or friends of friends, all of whom were active in programs such the Alumni Schools Committee, Eckhart Consulting, or fund-raising events such as the 10-for-10.

Additional examples could be fraternities, housemates, roommates, and so on. That connection can help go a long way in binding the group together. The conversation is easy:“let’s band together and do something really great for the University.”

Ryan: Get a small group of people committed to contribute, a group that can really get it started. And then you ask that group to call one or two of their friends...the conversations get easier. Each time you can say that you already have half of your goal raised and you are looking for a small amount of support. People will tend to jump on the bandwagon when they think it will be successful.

We've been very fortunate that we're here in New York and that the connection here is strong. But even if you don't have a large network or even a small group who can pitch in, I would do your best to pull together what you can, and see if they can match you up with another group somewhere else in the country.

Is there something specific about the nature of Odyssey that makes it a clear choice for philanthropic giving?

Lee: I think donating to help an individual and being able to see the results is very rewarding. For all we know we just helped fund the education of someone who's going to be the next Nobel Prize winner or who will find the cure for a disease. We don't know where it will end up. But most likely, the recipient of this scholarship is going to have something pretty unique and special.

Ryan: I think if you want the school or the alumni community to look a certain way in the future, you have to start working on it today. This type of program really helps, because you have alumni funding people's education, and that will in turn, hopefully, make these students become more dedicated to the school and to the alumni community in the future. It also helps that you're unlocking Homer's funds. The more you help meet the goals he set up, the more it unlocks his money.

Perhaps you can comment on your aggressive position on giving back as young alumni. Many young alums might feel, “I'm two years out of the University of Chicago. I'm doing okay, but I'm still servicing loans, and I'm still making my way. I can get to this twenty years down the line.”

Ryan: My response would be that if everyone gives a little bit, we get much closer to our goals. And it’s good for your philanthropic discipline to start giving back early, even if it's at a small level.It's not something you can think about one time.Hopefully, if we do it right, it should be a lifetime of giving back, helping new generations of thinkers address the big issues and problems.

Lee: Giving what you can now bridges a gap and helps you stay connected to the University. It creates disciplined philanthropic behavior on an ongoing basis. In New York, as part of the young alumni network and Chicago Society, we are not asking for large sums of money from the majority of the alumni community. What we are doing is asking them to make an effort, to be counted on for their support of the University. As young alumni, it is not necessarily the size of the donation that matters, but the fact that we have the opportunity to give back and participate in something great for the University.