AC_1965_Web
100 AN T I OC H CO L L E G E C L A S S O F 19 6 5 5 0 t h A N N I V E R S A R Y B O O K University of Chicago as the Office of Special Programs. Later, a Northwestern doctoral committee chair,wisely sensing that I was likely to drop out, advised me to take a break and sent me to serve as a troubleshooter for the newly de- segregated Evanston public schools where I stayed for the next 15 years. Meanwhile, I began graduate stud- ies at Antioch University which led to a M.Ed. in 1974. At the same time I served on the Antioch alumni board. Long before founding my Chicago-based fundraising consult- ing firm, I put the Antioch co-op model to work with middle school students who were not adjust- ing to school for a variety of rea- sons. Initially an after-school drop- in center for kids referred to me by their principals, social workers or guidance counselors, the pro- gram evolved into an after school employment program where sixth, seventh and eighth graders could earn money doing work projects I found for them in local businesses that could be completed at a central school-owned facility.The ability to work for up to two hours for mini- mum wage was earned by complet- ing academic and behavioral goals that were unique to each partici- pant. In addition to the school year work, the students attended a sum- mer introduction orientation that in- cluded community cooperation and building self-esteem skills in a resi- dential camp setting. The program (named “Earn and Learn” by a stu- dent) blended Antioch co-op prin- ciples with community cooperative governance skills and lasted for ten years after I recruited and hired my own replacement. For the Earn and Learn program to succeed, I needed to learn how to attract and build a board of influen- tial business and civic leaders, raise funds to pay for things that the pub- lic school budget could not provide (such as the cost of the residential summer program) and understand how to construct a sustainable fi- nancial model. Those connections, begun as a door-to-door campaign canvasser in support of a success- ful local mental health referendum, were honed in Democratic Party pre- cinct activities and later in various local United Way committees, chair- ing the review and allocations com- mittee, chairing the campaign com- mittee and ultimately being elected president. While these skills certainly helped when I was recruited to join the staff of a local hospital’s fund- raising program, the real help came from an Antiochian: the late Alberta (Albie) Lauterbach, who was a fund- raiser at the other local hospital. Blunt, candid and sometimes abra- sive, Albie gave me a crash course in fundraising. She and other local Antiochians were (and some con- tinue to be) an important support group. Some, like the late school board member,Alice Krieman, were very directly responsible for helping my program thrive (and sometimes just survive) while others likeAlbie’s husband and Evanston Alderman, the late Ned Lauterbach, or nearby Wilmette residents, Mary and Bill Lloyd, or Bill’s sister Georgia Lloyd,, or early childhood special education teacher, Marcia Berman Baum, were just “there” when I needed to know that a community of support was available. For many years we met an- nually at the Evanston home of the late Dick Salem and his wife Greta who welcomed Antiochians of all ages and eras. In the later years of the local group’s meeting and be- fore she moved to Yellow Springs, we could count on Jennifer Berman to arrive with the latest book collec- tion of her syndicated cartoons. She sold autographed copies to benefit the Antioch annual fund and we all shared stories of our work and our families. The unabashedly self-promo- tional material for my business says: The firm’s president,Alexander Sandy Macnab, FAHP, CFRE, began the con- sulting company bearing his name in 1994 after many years as a devel- opment professional. Before starting his own firm, Mr. Macnab served St. Francis Hospital in Evanston for 12 years as director of development and assistant vice president. A Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and also a Fellow of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (FAHP), he is a longtime member of the Chicago Council on Planned Giving who helped lead the organization as part of its steering committee. In ad- dition, he was one of 22 fundraising professionals chosen from through- out North America to inaugurate the Association of Fundraising Professionals Faculty Academy, earn- ing the designation Master Teacher. Mr.Macnab prepares feasibility stud- ies, counsels campaigns, conducts training seminars and frequently presents programs to volunteers and professional development officers. He successfully makes “the ask” or trains others to do so. While I can’t point to any victo- ries I’ve personally won for human- ity, I know that both the inner-city and middle school students I have worked with and the clients I have served do win those victories daily, and the students I currently teach at the North Park University Graduate School of Business and Nonprofit Management are encouraged to ac- cept the commitment to do so. M A C N A B A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Made with FlippingBook
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODI0NDUy