Take advantage of match offer and make your United Way gift go further

Board Chair Crownover to match United Way donor contributions through December

Rice employees can make their contribution to the Rice Campaign for the United Way go further, thanks to a generous matching offer by Rice Board of Trustees Chair Jim Crownover ’65.

To help the campaign achieve its $175,000 goal and possibly surpass last year’s fundraising total, Crownover announced this week that he will match 2-to-1 all pledges made by first-time Rice campaign donors during December and match 1-to-1 gifts by all past donors who renew their support before the end of the year.

“This time of year is a very busy one for Rice employees,” he said. “With academic deadlines added to the distractions of the coming holidays, it’s easy to lose track of time, but I hope we’re never too busy to reflect on how fortunate we are, and to take a few moments in this season of giving to do something for those in our community who are not so lucky.”

Last year, the United Way of Greater Houston touched the lives of nearly half of the residents of the community, focusing on four broad areas of need: children, families, seniors and those who are rebuilding their lives after natural disasters and personal crises.

A pledge to the Rice United Way Campaign helps make this a better community, and best of all, employees do not have to pay anything now. They can contribute by payroll deduction by logging in to ESTHER (http://esther.rice.edu) or filling out and mailing the United Way pledge form, and their pledge will be counted now but divided among all the paychecks in 2013. Faculty and staff can also contribute today by cash, check or credit card by printing, completing and mailing the pledge form found at www.rice.edu/unitedway and receive a tax deduction for the current calendar year. Either way, any pledge recorded during the month of December will be eligible for the Crownover matching gift and will make a real difference in the lives of real people in the Greater Houston community.

For more information on the 2012-13 Rice United Way Campaign, visit www.rice.edu/unitedway.