At the launch of the Momentum Campaign: Extraordinary Impact, Vice President of University Advancement and External Relations Thomas Kline, EdD, answers questions about the initiative’s ambitious goals and the lasting benefits it will provide for Adelphi students and the University.
The Momentum Campaign: Extraordinary Impact is Adelphi’s largest fundraising effort ever, with the heady goal of raising $100 million. To learn how the University is approaching this historic campaign, we talked with the person charged with leading it, Thomas Kline, EdD, vice president of University advancement and external relations.
What is your vision for The Momentum Campaign?
The Momentum Campaign is really about transformation. It’s about transforming the culture of philanthropy at Adelphi. It’s about engaging our community and having them own the campaign, own our success and be very proud of the University, whether they’re a student, an alum, a parent, a faculty member, or an Adelphi administrator or staff member. That’s the vision. It’s about ending in a place where we’ve really moved the needle in many areas at Adelphi.
Why is the campaign being launched now?
Forbes recently designated Adelphi as the top-ranked private university on Long Island. We’ve entered a new category of peers and we’re on this incredible trajectory. So the hope is that the campaign provides the fuel to keep that momentum going. In fact, the campaign is tied to The Momentum 2 strategic plan, which launched in 2022 and ends in 2027. So we’ve been diligently preparing for this campaign for many years. But now we’re ready to bring it to the public, get everybody engaged and bring it to a successful conclusion.
How will the campaign benefit current students as well as future students?
We have six campaign priorities. The number-one priority is scholarships and financial aid; that will have a direct impact on our students. Our second priority is academic excellence—allowing us to continue launching new and innovative programs, attract and retain outstanding faculty members, fund research, and provide faculty and students with incredible classroom experiences. The third is extraordinary and life-changing student opportunities, including internships, study abroad and leadership development programs, and success on the athletic fields. The fourth is developing a modern and beautiful campus. While we’ve invested a lot in our facilities over the last 20 years, there is still some work left to do. The fifth is creating a diverse community where all students flourish by supporting our diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and our new Multicultural Center. Finally, our sixth priority is the Adelphi Fund—one fund for everyone and everything at Adelphi—which supports a broad spectrum of projects in many important ways.
How will it benefit the University?
One of the main goals of the campaign is to build pride and engagement with the University. This is not my campaign, my office’s campaign, or the president’s campaign. This is our campaign, and we need the entire community to own it and be excited by it. We want to see direct impacts from a student perspective, from a faculty and staff perspective, and from an alumni and parent perspective. So when the campaign ends, we can collectively feel that we’ve accomplished our goals together.
How are you working to engage the entire Adelphi community in the campaign?
We announced the campaign at the President’s Gala, which is one of our largest donor events of the year and a celebration of the University. We took the opportunity this year to honor and thank our most generous donors, the members of our Million Dollar Roundtable, whose generosity has been truly inspiring.
A few days later, we held a Campus Kick-Off event, a celebration that attracted hundreds of faculty, staff and students. Two days after that, we announced it at our Spirit Weekend, which is targeted towards alumni, parents and families. We want them to understand the campaign and take ownership and pride in it, too.
How much money has been raised so far?
We’ve raised $75 million of our $100 million goal to date. We essentially have three years to raise the remaining $25 million, which is aggressive but achievable. While we have wind in our sails, we will need the support of our community to succeed in our goal.
Why should people give to the campaign?
As we approach being a top-100 university on Forbes’ overall list, we have to start embodying what that is. What distinguishes many top-100 institutions is that their communities have a spirit of philanthropy and give generously of their time, talent and treasure in order to help move the university forward. This campaign provides a great opportunity for people to participate and to show their support for Adelphi at any level.
When we talk with major donors, they often ask, “Does the community support this? Do you have 100 percent board participation in giving?” Being able to say “Yes, we believe in ourselves, we believe in the education we provide, we believe in our students and what they’re capable of, and we are supporting this campaign ourselves” is the most powerful message that we can send to major donors.
What will it take to reach the campaign’s $100 million?
Every gift counts. We know that everybody is at a different period in their life and their philanthropy is unique to themselves. What I would ask of the community is to give something, attend an event, participate in Giving Day, reach out to us and let us know how you’re doing. This really is an initiative to bring our community closer together, build pride and excitement for Adelphi, and help us continue this momentum and our incredible trajectory.