Put Your Personal Statement on the RARE Donors Wall

From the beginning of RARE, we had reason to be optimistic that we could raise money for the James A. Davis Jr. Scholarship fund. Everyone on the Steering Committee donated. Friends and family quickly joined in. We could see that most of the people we knew agreed that racial equity was an important issue. They were appreciative that RARE had gotten off the ground.

Now we are beginning to reach out to a broader audience. This includes people we don’t know or haven’t spoken to in a long time. To accomplish this, we are getting the word out in many ways. This includes blog articles, newsletters, social media, class captains, local press and more. Among all these ideas, we agreed that donor recognition was top priority. We wanted to present a page on our site that presents and acknowledges every donor in a way that is fast, clear, and engaging. We call this page the “Donors Wall”. It is the most frequently visited page on the RARE website.

In designing the Donors Wall, our focus was on two key features:
1. Search; and 2. Personal statements.

Search

Visitors to the RARE site, especially those who are part of the RHS community, are keenly interested to know who among their friends and classmates have already decided to support the scholarship.

To help answer this question, you’ll see two search components at the top of the Wall: (a) search by name; and (b) search by class year. The name search is fast and easy. Just enter a few letters from the first, last, or maiden name. Everyone who has those letters in their name will instantly appear on the page. Searching by class year is just as simple. You just select that year from the dropdown menu.

Personal Statements

Putting a brief personal statement on the Wall gives you a way to say why you donated. It is an opportunity to express yourself to friends, family, and potential donors who are interested in what you have to say on the highly visible topic of racial equity.

Personal statements also make the Donors Wall an interesting place for people to visit and reflect on racial equity. Potential donors will find the statements helpful as they learn more about why others have chosen to donate. You are greatly helping the RARE mission by submitting your statement.

In addition to the statement, there are two other elements that you might wish to personalize:

• Name — Usually this is your first and last name. If you have a married name, we encourage you to also include your maiden name (for searching). Many couples want the donation to be recognized as being from both partners. And in some cases, people want the donation to come from a group or family. Just let us know what you want to appear on the page. We are happy to accommodate your requests.
• Class year — This helps your friends and classmates to find your listing. Leave this blank if you are not an RHS grad.

The process for submitting your statement and/or updating your name/year is simple. You will see a link at the top of the Donors Wall to add your statement. That link will take you to a form. Please don’t hesitate to enter any special instructions or comments. One of our volunteers will read your submission and work with you to get things exactly right.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Please know that we deeply appreciate your being part of the RARE community.