Campus Update

By Donna Yee (November 28, 2007)

There's Still Time to Give: SEFA Campaign Extended Dec. 14

UAlbany has a proud tradition of giving to the Capital Region's State Employees Federated Appeal, SEFA, which continues this year in combination with UAlbany's "Go Green" campaign launched last fall. Now more than ever, your gift can help, both those in need and the environment.

SEFA is a joint venture of state employees, public employee unions, management, and not-for-profit organizations. Donations provide funding statewide for more than 4,000 health care and human service agencies. Employees can also choose which organization(s) will receive their gift. This year's campaign ends Dec. 14. Research Foundation employees make their contributions to the United Way campaign during the same period. There's still time to make your donation!

The "Go Green" campaign plays a significant role in how donations are made. In an effort to reduce the amount of paper materials, as well as mailing process time, UAlbany is the first in the Capital Region to move the SEFA/United Way campaign to an electronic format. While employees need to print and submit a copy of the pledge form, thousands of booklets, envelopes, and labels are no longer needed. The shift to an electronic format is consistent with the theme of environmental sustainability on campus and a strategy to go paperless for administrative processes. The electronic format also encourages SEFA and the United Way to look into putting the entire donation process online, as well setting a "go green" example for the Capital Region.

"This has been a great opportunity to combine the University's lengthy tradition of giving to SEFA/United Way with our new commitment to going green," said Christine Haile, chief information officer and this year's campaign manager. "We're also very proud that the University is promoting a model of environmental stability right here in our community."

There are other advantages to going green, said Assistant to the CIO Greg Rickes. "Sometimes people want to support a particular cause, but don't know what organizations support it," he said. "Now that the booklet is available in an electronic format, you can search by cause. It's a lot faster than going through the entire list of community partners if you already know what kind of organizations you want to support."

There have been many positive comments about the University "going green." Your gift will further the goal to exceed last year's campaign effort. The Office of the CIO has sent several reminders with links to all SEFA/United Way materials. For more information, contact [email protected].