Johanna Guccione

Joanna Guccione Oral History Interview, 2014

Alumni Support at Concordia College created a club that encourages the support of alumni and other donors.  This club is called the C-400 Club.  The difference between this club and any other fundraiser, is that it became successful because of how much support Concordia was able to gain from it.  Concordia has created a community, and this community has helped Concordia in many ways.

Johanna Guccione, an alum of Concordia College, briefly described a club called the C-400 Club.  The C-400 Club is a club that is only for the Colleges’ donors who pledge 1,000 dollars to the college.  It “was the earliest and greatest success of development.” (1)  This club was created by Luther Jacobson and Gene Paulson in the year 1955.  It was originally a fundraiser to pay for the new library called the Carl B. Ylvisaker Library.  Johanna was very close to the Ylvisaker family and knew them very well.  The C-400 Club originally “recruited 400 persons to pledge $1,000 over a four-year period.” (2)  Although this idea has been done before in earlier years of the college, it is the first one that would last.  It was established as a “permanent organization.” (3)  It was also the first one to raise a large amount of money for the college.  This was a fairly fast growing club, and it helped out the college for other projects besides just the library.  The C-400 Club funds “covered down payments on new buildings and subsequently repaid construction loans.” (4)  In the year 1960, a total of 280 members were in the club, and this number would keep growing as the years would go by.  By 1965 the club had a total of 800 members.  The C-400 Club idea ended up being a great success. 

There are many colleges across the United States that use voluntary means to help fund their school.  In fact, according to a 2007 research study, “in 2004, U.S. colleges and universities raised approximately $25 billion in voluntary support.” (5)  Although the C-400 Club accepts anybody who donates one thousand dollars to the college, the majority of the donors are alumni of Concordia.  It is prevalent in the study that most of the donations come from those who are college or university alumni.  According to the study, “alumni are the largest source of voluntary support, accounting for nearly twenty-eight percent of total contributions.” (6)  Private institutions across the United States are fairly dependent on the support of alumni and other supporters. So these colleges work hard on ensuring they get that support.  Concordia is no different in that aspect.

Essay by: Gabriele Gardner ‘17

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1. Carroll L. Engelhardt, On Firm Foundation Grounded (Moorhead: Concordia College, 1991), 221.
2. Engelhardt, On Firm Foundation Grounded, 221.
3. Engelhardt, On Firm Foundation Grounded, 221.
4. Engelhardt, On Firm Foundation Grounded, 221.
5. Jessica Holmes, “Prestige, Charitable Deductions and Other Determinants of Alumni Giving: Evidence from a Highly Selective Liberal Arts College,” Economics of Education Review 28, (2009): 18.
6. Holmes, “Prestige, Charitable Deductions,” 18.