Capital Campaign News
January 29, 2012
Over 900 donors have contributed almost $2.2 million to the APA’s Gatekeeper to Gateway Campaign for Classics in the 21st Century. Daniel Mendelsohn kicked off the recent APA Annual Meeting with a well-attended fund-raising event for the Campaign, and the Campaign Steering Committee recruited a number of new donors in the meeting’s exhibit show. Donors were able to obtain buttons and shopping bags carrying an image inspired by the appeal made in January 2011 by President Kathleen Coleman urging members to bring wineskins to fill the Campaign’s amphora:
We are grateful to Alex Hollman of the University of Washington for creating this image and allowing us to use it on Campaign materials.
December 21, 2011
The APA is grateful to the more than 800 donors who have pledged nearly $2.2 million to the Gateway Campaign to date. They are recognized in this document which will also be bound into the Program for the upcoming annual meeting.
December 8, 2011
The American Philological Association is pleased to present a special event sponsored by the Gatekeeper to Gateway Campaign for Classics at the upcoming APA Annual Meeting
A Father-Son Odyssey with Daniel Mendelsohn
Thursday, January 5, 2012
9:00 p.m.
Grand Ballroom H (fifth floor), Philadelphia Marriott Hotel
In his new project, Odysseys: Adventures in Reading the Greeks, Daniel Mendelsohn—classical scholar, author of the international bestseller The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million, translator of Cavafy, and prolific contributor on classical themes to The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, and other influential publications—adapts his trademarked blending of ancient texts and travel narrative to the classics, weaving a story that combines reflections on Greek texts with a larger story of a father-son journey to the sites of Greek culture through the Mediterranean and beyond. Mr. Mendelsohn will read passages from his work-in-progress that illuminate the transmissions that take place both as new generations encounter the great works of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations and as a father and son share that encounter.
Seating for this event is limited. To reserve a seat, please return this form or visit: www.apaclassics.org/mendelsohnodyssey.html.
Except as indicated below, all donations supporting this event are tax-deductible.
Suggested Donations
- Student members of the APA $10/person
- Regular APA members $25/person
- Nonmembers $35/person
- Event sponsors $250/person ($230 of this amount is tax-deductible)
Event sponsors receive preferred seating at the event and are invited to attend a private reception with Mr. Mendelsohn afterwards.
September 23, 2011
In support of the Campaign for Classics the APA and Boston University will host a benefit on October 6th featuring classically themed readings by four poets.
Boston, Home of the Muses: Classical Translations and Inspirations by Four Eminent Poetswill be held on Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 8 p.m. at the Metcalf Trustee Center at Boston University. The evening will feature readings and a reception with
David Ferry, poet, translator, and recent winner of the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize for lifetime achievement.
George Kalogeris, poet and teacher of English Literature and Classics in Translation at Suffolk University.
Robert Pinsky, former United States Poet Laureate and Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress.
Rosanna Warren, poet and Emma MacLachlan Metcalf Professor of the Humanities at Boston University.
A pre-performance dinner with the poets for top-tier ticket purchasers will be held at the former President’s residence, known as The Castle, one of Boston University’s most elegant buildings.
Please visit http://www.apaclassics.org/bostonmuses.html to purchase tickets or to make a donation. Supporters may also wish to purchase an advertisement in the Program Book to be distributed at the event. Proceeds from the event will be used to match the $650,000 challenge grant offered by the NEH. A portion of all ticket sales will be considered a tax deductible gift.
August 12, 2011
The APA’s Campaign for Classics in the 21st Century has received pledges worth close to $2.1 million from more than 800 different donors. We are well on our way to meeting our goal of raising $2.6 million by the deadline of our National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Challenge Grant: July 31, 2012. While the Campaign is ongoing, the funds that it is establishing are already beginning to support important Association programs. The work of the American Office of L’Année philologique is continuing without interruption although its final year-to-year grant from the NEH ended last month. Major grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Classical Association of the United Kingdom, along with many gifts from APA members, made this smooth transition possible.
This summer, thanks to an early grant from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, we provided an additional full minority scholarship. The Delmas Foundation has recently made a generous addition to this grant which will allow this stipend to increase in the future. The generosity of Daniel and Joanna Rose will allow the APA to improve our collegiate and precollegiate teaching awards this winter by increasing the amount given to each awardee and adding a new grant for teaching materials to their institution. During the fiscal year that begins in July 2012, several gifts in support of teacher training will fund the professional development of Classics teachers, especially efforts to obtain certification to teach in public primary and secondary schools.
The lists of donors who have contributed to the six “Friends” funds honoring revered teachers have been updated and are accessible through the links below.
Note that a new fund honoring Prof. Michael C.J. Putnam has been added to the list. Donations of any amount are ascribed both to the individual donor and to the appropriate Friends group. In addition, a donor of $250 or more may choose to add this tribute to the listing of his or her individual gift.
The successful completion of the Campaign to secure the full $650,000 from the NEH will require additional gifts of all sizes. In order not to leave any money “on the table,” we urge members who made their last Campaign gift several years ago or who have not yet made a gift to the Campaign to give serious consideration to a donation that will enable the APA to raise the necessary $500,000 well before next July’s deadline. Please don’t wait to click on one of the links below to make your donation.
Donate online: https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/AmericanPhilologicalAssociat/OnlineDonation.html
Print out a donation form: http://www.apaclassics.org/images/uploads/documents/pledge_form_revised_10-10.pdf
April 22, 2011
The Council of the Classical Association of the UK (CA) has approved a new grant of $65,000 to the APA's Gatekeeper to Gateway Campaign. We are especially grateful to the CA because this generous contribution is its second major gift to the campaign. With its initial extraordinary grant of $200,000 in 2008 the CA created the Classical Association Fund for Bibliography supporting the American Office ofl'Année philologique. The new gift will increase that fund.
When he informed APA officers of this recent decision, David Scourfield, Chair of the Council of the CA, wrote that the "Council is glad to have been in a position to make this additional grant to a very worthwhile cause, and hopes that it will further advance the internationalization of Classics and, in particular, the excellent, friendly, and constructive relations that exist between our two associations."
This commitment has allowed us to reach an important campaign milestone: surpassing the $2 million mark in pledges received. This accomplishment demonstrates the worldwide vibrancy and dedication of the Classics field. It also contributes to another critical accomplishment: This summer, income from the Campaign endowment will begin supporting the American Office. We will no longer need to rely on annual grants. Also starting this summer, other Campaign gifts will fund an additional minority summer scholarship and improvements to our teaching award programs.
The Officers and Directors of the APA are deeply grateful to the Classical Association for its continued support and to all of our donors , especially the APA members who have contributed to our success thus far. Because of this support, the APA needs only $550,000, a quarter of the amount raised to date, to reach the triumphant conclusion of the Campaign: claiming another installment of matching funds this coming July and completing all matching requirements by July 31, 2012.
December 3, 2010
The APA has just posted the names of the generous donors who made contributions to the Association’s annual giving campaign in the last fiscal year (July 2009-June 2010) and of those who have made pledges to the Campaign for Classics through September 30, 2010. This list will also be published in a combined Summer/Fall 2010 Newsletter and in the Program for the 2011 Annual Meeting. The Association is extremely grateful to these generous donors who are willing to support both current programs through annual giving and those we will implement in the future through the Campaign for Classics.
On the list of Campaign donors you will notice several references to “Friends” groups that have raised Campaign gifts in honor of revered teachers. The appeals currently underway honor
The organizers of these groups felt that soliciting gifts to the Campaign for our future was an appropriate way to honor these distinguished Classicists who helped the APA to flourish in the past and whose contributions to the field live on today. Donations of any amount are ascribed both to the individual donor and to the appropriate Friends group. In addition, a donor of $250 or more may choose to add this tribute to the listing of his or her individual gift. We encourage members to start new Friends groups, and ask only that they notify the Executive Director before beginning solicitations.
November 3, 2010 (updated March 1, 2011)
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has granted an extension of time to the APA to claim funds available under its current Challenge Grant. To date over 650 donors have pledged just under $1,900,000 to the APA’s Campaign for Classics for the 21st Century, and the Association has received and is investing more than $1,600,000 of the amount pledged.
The NEH Challenge Grant calls for the APA to raise a total of $2,600,000 in order to receive $650,000 in matching funds. By meeting earlier grant deadlines, the APA was able to claim $460,000 of this amount. Thanks to this recent NEH action, the APA has until July 31, 2011, to raise an additional $200,000 and claim the final installment ($190,000) of matching funds. Pledges of support are sufficient to meet the July 2011 deadline but all existing and new pledges must be paid, and the APA must raise an additional $500,000 (for the total of $2,600,000) by July 31, 2012, if it is to retain the matching funds it has claimed.
At the end of October the Association made an excellent start at reaching its next goal by holding a fund-raising event at New York University's Center for Ancient Studies. Thanks to the magnificent cooperation and assistance of Dean Matthew S. Santirocco, his staff, and the Aquila Theatre Company in residence at the Center, the APA was able to host a performance of several scenes from Greek epic and tragedy. Dean Santirocco and APA President Dee L. Clayman chaired an event committee that attracted an audience that was largely new to the Association and its activities. The event generated over $40,000 in net proceeds that can be used to claim NEH matching funds. The event Program is posted on the APA web site,
Starting next Summer the endowment being generated by this Campaign will begin to support important Association activities. First of all, it will ensure the uninterrupted operation of the American Office of L’Année philologique when its current grant funding expires in June. In addition, endowment funds will improve the APA’s teaching awards program, permit us to offer an additional minority summer scholarship each year, and supplement the stipend of the TLL Fellow. The recent appointment of the APA's first Information Architect, Prof. Samuel Huskey of the University of Oklahoma signals that the APA is ready to start fulfilling the Campaign's promise of making its web site and other electronic media a gateway to information of high scholarly quality about classical antiquity. There is a great deal that can be done in this area with existing resources and volunteer labor, particularly with Prof. Huskey as coordinator. Even more will be possible once the full $2,600,000 is raised.
About 20% of all APA members have made a contribution to the Campaign for Classics; as this figure indicates, however, about 80% have not. If you have not yet made a contribution to the Campaign, now is an important time to do so. Please use either our secure online donation mechanism or this pledge form to make your pledge and set up a comfortable schedule of payments.
September 8, 2010
In support of the Campaign for Classics the APA and the Center for Ancient Studies at New York University will host a benefit on October 26th featuring the Aquila Theatre Company under the direction of Peter Meineck. Come Home to Classics: An Evening of Dramatic Readings from the Greeks will feature six readings based the themes of “Husbands and Wives”, “Intransigent Heroes” and “Women on the Edge.” The Aquila Theatre Company was founded in London in 1991 by Peter Meineck and has been based in New York City since 1999. Aquila’s mission is to bring the greatest theatrical works to the greatest number of people.
Come Home to Classics: An Evening of Dramatic Readings from the Greeks will be held on Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. at the Silver Center for Arts and Science, Hemmerdinger Hall, NYU. Please visit http://www.apaclassics.org/hometoclassics.html to purchase tickets or to make a donation. Supporters may also wish to purchase an advertisement in the Program Book to be distributed at the event. The advertising insertion form can be found at http://apaclassics.org/images/uploads/documents/Program_Advertising_Fill_In_Form.pdf. Proceeds from the event will be used to match the $650,000 challenge grant offered by the NEH.
August 4, 2010
Over 600 donors have pledged $1,850,000 to the Gatekeeper to Gateway Campaign and have already contributed about $1,500,000 of that amount. Over $300,000 has been raised in just the last six months. This amount includes major new gifts from Prof. T. Leslie Shear, Campaign Co-Chair Michael C. J. Putnam, and two anonymous donors. Students and colleagues of four distinguished Classicists, George Goold, George Kennedy, Mary Lefkowitz, and Zeph Stewart, have raised substantial gifts in their honor, and new gifts continue to arrive on a regular basis.
The amount raised to date ensures that APA can retain the $460,000 in NEH challenge grant matching funds it has already received. Further, we have asked the NEH for an extension of time to raise the additional $750,000 needed to reach the Campaign goal of $2,600,000. We are optimistic that this request will be granted, and we will be able to claim up to $190,000 in additional matching funds.
On October 26 New York University's Center for Ancient Studies will host a benefit for the Campaign for Classics featuring performances by the Aquila Theatre Company. We are very grateful to Matthew Santirocco and Peter Meineck for making this event possible. At the end of August visit the campaign page on the APA web site (http://apaclassics.org/index.php/support_the_APA/campaign_for_classics) for ticket information.
As you’ve read previously, the Campaign seeks to establish an Endowment for Classics Research and Teaching to ensure that APA members will have the scholarly and pedagogical resources they need to do their work for decades to come. Specifically, the Campaign's initial goals are to support the American Office of l'Année philologique, to encourage and increase the number of outstanding Classics teachers, and to develop a digital portal and other public programs that will build the audience for Classics.
Please consider making a new or renewed Campaign pledge. Every dollar secures the future of the American Office and makes it possible for the APA to take on other important new programs. Further, if the NEH grants our extension request, your gift will be matched at the same 1 to 4 ratio as before. Remember that you can pay a pledge on any schedule you like through July 2011 and that it is now possible to make a pledge to the Campaign online. Visit apaclassics.org and click on the link for “support APA” or “The Campaign for Classics” to be directed to a secure web site to make a new pledge and partial payment or make payment on an existing pledge using your credit card.
January 12, 2010
In September the Association held an extremely successful event at the Center for Hellenic Studies to celebrate the initial success of the Campaign and to reach out to new donors. Garry Wills, a Campaign donor and a member of its Honorary Advisory Board, gave a stimulating talk entitled "Reading Greek in Jail: The Importance of Greek in My Life" that illustrated perfectly the Campaign's goal of increasing public understanding and appreciation of Classical Civilization.
