Rec Day, NIRSA’s birthday, takes place every February 22—and at the NIRSA Foundation we’re marking the occasion by inviting campus recreation professionals and students to celebrate by showing that they’re “All in for NIRSA!”

“All in for NIRSA” is the NIRSA Foundation‘s way of celebrating NIRSA’s birthday as well as a way to kick off the NIRSA 2018 fundraising conference appeal. Our Annual Conference appeal launches on February 22 and wraps up on March 31. By making a gift and showing that you’re “All in for NIRSA” this Rec Day, your gift will be counted among your Annual Conference gifts and your name will be among those celebrated on the giving boards at NIRSA 2018’s NIRSA Foundation table. If you’re not attending the conference, this is a great way to join your colleagues in spirit!

When you make a gift to the NIRSA Foundation, you’re giving back to our professional organization and helping colleagues by providing scholarships, research, student officials development, and leadership. We can make amazing things happen for the NIRSA family when we join together!

I was a NIRSA professional for ten years when I finally realized campus recreation is my professional home and that I was “All in for NIRSA.” I made my first gift to the NIRSA Foundation in 2010 because my friend and former colleague Erin Patchett—currently Associate Director, Administration at Colorado State University-Fort Collins—received a scholarship to attend the NIRSA Annual Conference in Anaheim.

Being able to connect with Erin at an Annual Conference gave us an invaluable opportunity to compare work notes and network. Before Erin’s scholarship, I was aware that members received scholarships through the NIRSA Foundation but I hadn’t realized the personal and professional impact that they could have.

Supporting the NIRSA Foundation is easy

Realizing what an impact a scholarship can have for a colleague inspired me to take on my latest NIRSA volunteer role: NIRSA Foundation Board member! In this role, I want to continue to see the NIRSA Foundation grow. In 1994, the NIRSA Foundation’s inaugural year of awarding scholarships, 12 scholarships were awarded. In 2018, we are awarding 107 scholarships and stipends to 88 individuals! We’ve grown because of the generosity of NIRSA members who pay it forward to the future of our shared profession.

As a NIRSA member, I continue to make gifts to the NIRSA Foundation because I know that my gifts expand our profession. I rely on the research to keep me up to date and I routinely refer to the Institutional Data Set and the 2014 Benefits of Campus Rec – Forrester Report in my program’s strategic process. I used to make an annual gift but have recently joined the monthly giving program, Cornerstone Society, to maximize my gift while minimizing the impact to my budget.

I hope you feel the same way about NIRSA and the NIRSA Foundation and will join me by making a gift during the 2018 NIRSA Annual Conference Campaign! You can show your colleagues you’re “All in for NIRSA” and committed to providing opportunities for emerging and established campus rec professionals by using the hashtag #iheartrec.

We hope that going “All in for NIRSA” will be an annual part of Rec Day celebrations among the profession. It will also be a way for us to develop as leaders and continue to help the Association grow.

 

  • For more information, please contact NIRSA Director of Philanthropy Kim Holmes.
Director of Recreation at Santa Clara University | NIRSA Profile

Janice DeMonsi is currently the Director of Recreation at Santa Clara University and a member of the NIRSA Foundation Board of Directors.