From Buildings to Staplers: “Swoop In” Lets You Name It All

An Eastern Washington University Annual Giving campaign is putting the fun back into fundraising.

If you’ve ever dreamed of naming a building—or even a bathroom, coffee maker or chair—this fundraiser is surely for you.

Starting next week, employees, students and select board members can “swoop in” with a “naming” gift to temporarily make their physical mark on Eastern’s Cheney and Spokane campuses.

Here is how it works: Gifts from $50 to $1,000 will name everything from buildings and statues to benches and trees, not to mention breakrooms, microwaves, lamps and whatever else you can think of naming. A list of campus landmarks, as well as the opportunity to suggest your own favorite, is available online.

Proceeds from Swoop In contribute to the Student Emergency Fund, which helps students experiencing financial hardships stay the course to graduate.

Linda Safford, senior director of Annual Giving, says Swoop In donors can choose to honor themselves, their departments, work groups, a recent retiree, coworker or colleague. While the possibilities are nearly infinite, Safford says, the wording is limited.

People making Swoop In gifts get a recognition sign that will be posted near the entity they named from May 1 through June 15. The signs will be up during a prime time for viewing as friends and family members of Eastern students visit campus for commencement. In addition, the line-up of gifts and names will be announced during the Giving Joy Day kickoff event at the Catalyst and at the campus birthday party on April 3 in the PUB’s Nysether Community Room.

Although the event hasn’t officially launched, it’s off to a fabulous start. During early communications planning meetings, when word got out, people quickly put their dibs on favorite rooms and objects.

“So far, our own water fountain in Hargreaves Hall is already spoken for. One of our basement conference rooms that one of our colleagues felt ‘just doesn’t get enough love’ has already been named — which I think is spectacular,” Safford says.

Swoop In plays off a successful California State University San Marcos fundraiser that went on to win a silver medal from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Earlier in the year, when Safford presented the concept of Swoop In to the Executive Leadership Team for their approval, they immediately embraced the concept. That’s when Safford knew they were on to something.

“Not only did they approve, but they were snatching up their favorite locations. That wasn’t even a part of the question – so we were ecstatic about the degree of enthusiasm that greeted the project,” Safford says.

Safford hopes the campus community will have fun with Swoop In while also helping to grow the event for next year by calling out previously unrecognized spaces.

“Frankly,” Safford says, “I hope that some of our employees who are not often recognized will join in the fun and we will get to recognize them, too.”