Together as One: the SDSU Alumni & Foundation

The South Dakota State University Alumni Association and SDSU Foundation have been the university’s two largest relationship-building partners for decades.

The number of personal contacts through SDSU Alumni Association events and initiatives measures in the tens of millions. STATE Magazine alone reaches 70,000 mailboxes three times a year.

Total gifts and commitments to the SDSU Foundation exceed $1.3 billion. Nearly half of that came from the latest comprehensive campaign: the seven-year-long Bold & Blue generated $604 million, well beyond its historic half-billion-dollar goal.

It does beg the question, though: With each organization operating at seemingly peak efficiency, why change?

“No one disputes the profound impact that the alumni association and foundation have had on SDSU as two separate organizations,” said Kevin Tetzlaff, a 1991 graduate who serves as the first chair of the new organization. “Together, we’re going to be able to serve the university, alumni and donors to an even greater degree. We wouldn’t do it otherwise.”

The two organizations have operated as separate legal entities since their inceptions — the SDSU Alumni Association in 1889, the SDSU Foundation in 1945. They’ve shared a common mission, a database and, since 2017, the same building.

On Jan. 1, through a unanimous vote of their respective volunteer boards, they have consolidated into one under a new name: the SDSU Alumni & Foundation.

It does align with a trend in higher education of merging the university alumni and fundraising entities into one, but the leadership of both organizations say it wasn’t a reaction to what others were doing. It was a natural evolution and logical next step for the two longtime partners.

The consolidation is the result of years of discussion and study, ultimately reinforced by a project that put them under the same roof. A decade ago, formal plans were being developed to expand the foundation’s home — the Lohr Building named after benefactor Jerry Lohr '58 — to create an alumni center for expanded hospitality opportunities and offices for the alumni association staff.

The private fundraising effort not only paid for the expanded building, but also fueled the construction of a new President’s Home as part of an expansive development across from the Coughlin Campanile that included the removal of two buildings — the Tompkins Alumni Center and an academic building named after Alvida Sorenson, a 1924 grad.

Another one of the early shows of support came from the two longtime leaders of the SDSU Alumni Association, Keith Jensen '56 and V.J. Smith '78. Jensen led the fundraising effort in the 1970s to build the Tompkins Alumni Center. Smith raised the organization’s visibility during his 11-year tenure as executive director (1996 to 2007).

“Keith and V.J. each took the SDSU Alumni Association to the next level during their time,” said Andi Fouberg '99, who served as its president and CEO since 2013 and is now chief operating officer of the new organization. “We wanted them to realize that we were building upon their legacy with this next chapter of the organization. Their endorsement was affirming.”

The staples of the SDSU Alumni Association — from football tailgating and summer outreach events to the Legends and Leaders Distinguished Alumni event to SDSU Family of the Year — all continue. New initiatives, such as the mentoring program that now touts 220 alumni paired with current students, will have greater support within a larger and more unified organization.

The SDSU Foundation’s core function of fundraising remains, including the annual One Day for STATE event that raised over $3 million from 6,100 donors in a 24-hour period last fall. The organization continues to respond to the university’s greatest needs, headed up by more scholarship support, building projects and endowed leadership positions.

The SDSU Alumni & Foundation has 55 full-time employees, plus a cadre of students in the Jackrabbit Philanthropy Center that reach out to alumni. Leadership expects incremental growth in staff to continue over the next few years to both grow existing programs and expand the organization’s reach into new areas.