The Sydney Development Fund

About us

The Sydney Development Fund assists the faculties, foundations and cause related units of the University of Sydney to make regular appeals to alumni and friends by mail, phone and e-mail.

The core goal of the Sydney Development Fund is to grow alumni levels of participation in philanthropic giving. Through a range of flexible giving opportunities, donors can invest in the University of Sydney’s future, and in its ability to produce the leaders and ideas of tomorrow.

The SDF hosts an annual donor recognition event for our Sydney based donors where we thoroughly enjoy having the opportunity to meet and thank our donors, and introduce donors to those students, researchers and academic staff who have benefited from their generosity.

As the University prepares for its future development, support from alumni and friends is key to our success.

The Sydney Development Fund would like to thank all alumni and friends who have shown their support during our programs. Your gifts are very much appreciated and have a far reaching impact.

View photos from the Donor Recognition Event, held in the Great Hall 23 November 2011.

Our methods

Direct Mail
Alumni, donors and friends are often contacted in one or both of our annual direct mail appeals – the Tax Appeal between April and June, and the Spring Appeal between October and December.

Direct mail is a useful way for faculties and foundations to keep their alumni and friends up to date with achievements in the faculty. In addition they can let supporters know how their gifts are making a difference, and what plans the faculty or foundation has for future growth and development.

Telephone
The Sydney Development Fund runs a year long telephone program where enthusiastic Sydney students make contact with alumni from the University, enjoying conversations about their experiences while at Sydney and making them aware of the areas that alumni can support.

Email
As online giving via our donation page continues to grow, email communication is becoming the preferred method for many of our alumni and supporters. The Sydney Development Fund currently uses email communication in conjunction with our direct mail and telephone programs.

Student fundraising initiatives
Student to student fundraising at Sydney started in 2010 and has grown exponentially, with student groups and societies making a big impact with their fundraising efforts for University related causes.