Law Firm Challenge Fact Sheet
Mission:
- Increase alumni giving to the Law Annual Fund
- Build a stronger legal network for students and alumni
- Reengage alumni with the law school
The Challenge is a peer outreach program that reconnects alumni to each other and the USD School of Law while encouraging alumni donations to the law school. Participating organizations compete for the highest percentage of alumni giving to the law school and for most dollars raised. Alumni at Challenge firms also receive special invitations to law school events and unique volunteer opportunities.
Who:
Law firms and legal organizations with three or more alumni participate in this friendly contest. Firms are divided into three categories based on the number of USD graduates at the firm; 10+ alumni (Group A), 6-9 alumni (Group B), and 3-5 alumni (Group C).
How:
Volunteers at each firm encourage colleagues to connect with the law school by contributing financially, attending events and volunteering. Volunteers receive monthly progress updates from law school staff including strategies to facilitate peer-to-peer solicitations. Development staff are also available to assist in organizing small events for alumni with the dean at each firm throughout the year.
Why:
All participating organizations raise the profile of their firm at USD and throughout the legal community through their involvement with the Challenge. Participants are acknowledged in widely distributed law school publications and on the School of Law web site. Additionally, organizations with the highest giving rates and total dollars raised are prominently listed on a plaque outside the Career Services Office, in law school collateral materials and in the law school Honor Roll. Individual contributors are personally acknowledged and thanked for their support.
Although all donations to the law school count toward the Challenge, gifts to the Law Annual Fund are encouraged. The Law Annual Fund provides resources for the dean to use where they are needed most. In the past, this support has gone toward financial aid, faculty development, technology enhancements, new initiatives and cutting edge programs, and students organizations. The Fund is an essential piece of the law school’s operating budget.
Dates to Remember:
March 1 – May 31: Official fundraising period.
June 30: Any gifts that are to be counted for the competition in a given year must be received by the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
