Jefferson Club
306 Reynolds Alumni Center
Columbia, MO 65211
Phone: 573-882-6516
(toll free) 1-877-738-6108
Email: jeffersonclub@missouri.edu
May 1, 2010
40th Annual Jefferson Club Dinner
Reynolds Alumni Center, Columbia
Jefferson Club
Public education always has relied on private benefactors for significant support. In fact, no state has ever built and maintained a truly great university with public funding alone. Substantial giving from alumni and friends provides the margin of excellence to which we aspire.
The Jefferson Club assists the University of Missouri in achieving its fundraising goals by encouraging private giving at the minimum level of $25,000. The Jefferson Club also recognizes and serves its members with special events and services.
Named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, the Jefferson Club recognizes the historic and philosophic ties MU has with the president. Through the Jefferson Club, alumni and friends who share his commitment to the quality of public higher education band together to support MU.
Jefferson's Legacy
As the first state university in the Louisiana Purchase territory, the University of Missouri has, from its beginnings, felt historic and philosophic ties with Thomas Jefferson.
The legislative act that created the university in 1839 incorporated some of Jefferson's ideas about higher education. When Jefferson died, friends discovered that he had designed his monument and written his own epitaph, which named his three proudest accomplishments: the writing of the Declaration of Independence; the establishment of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom; and the founding of the first state university.
The original marker with this epitaph was given to the university in 1883 after the U.S. Congress appropriated money for another memorial at Jefferson's grave in Virginia. Although competition was spirited, the marker was awarded to Missouri on the basis of its being the first state university in the Louisiana Purchase, the vast territory negotiated for the United States by Jefferson during his presidency.
Jefferson's commitment to the quality of public higher education makes it appropriate that alumni and friends who are dedicated to quality education at MU belong in a Jefferson Club.
The Columbia Missouri Herald of July 12, 1883, commented: "Welcome then any reminder of Jefferson to Missouri. May these souvenirs be a fresh inspiration to Missourians, not only in maintenance of the true principles which underlie the government which he helped to found, but also of the cause of higher education of which he was of all Americans the most conspicuous pioneer."
Welcome, then, the Jefferson Club and its thousands of dedicated members.
Membership Benefits and Requirements
Membership in the Jefferson Club is open to alumni of the University of Missouri, friends and MU-affiliated nonprofit organizations. Joint memberships are available for alumni and friends and their spouses.
Gifts
Membership eligibility is established through gifts or pledges to any academic area or university program of the donor's choice.
Donors may choose to designate their gifts for scholarships, fellowships, research or other purposes important to the university.
Benefits of Membership
Jefferson Club members have the satisfaction of knowing that they, like the founding members in 1883, have helped shape the University of Missouri for today's scholars and tomorrow's leaders.
All members receive invitations to special campus and regional Jefferson Club events.
Jefferson Club members are recognized in university honor rolls, and members enjoy newsletters and publications produced especially for them.
Members receive Jefferson Club lapel pins which are identified by the following gemstones:
- Members — amethyst
- Fellows — citron
- Distinguished Fellows — sapphire
- Very Distinguished Fellows — ruby
- Diplomats — emerald
- Ambassadors — diamond
Members are also eligible to receive the commerorative Jefferson Club plate, which symbolizes the enduring legacy made possible by their gift commitments.
Members
Membership is available to individuals who meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Contribute or pledge one of the amounts listed below, over no more than a 10-year period.
- All prior gifts to the University of Missouri and company matching gifts count toward membership.
- Irrevocable trusts are included as an outright gift or pledge.
| Membership Levels | Outright Gifts or Pledges |
*Testamentary Gifts |
| Member | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| Fellow | $50,000 | $100,000 |
| Distinguished Fellow | $100,000 | $200,000 |
| Very Distinguished Fellow | $250,000 | $500,000 |
| Diplomat | $500,000 | $1 million |
| Ambassador | $1 million | $2 million |
*Testamentary gifts signify the intention to donate by means of a bequest, life insurance or other type of deferred gift.
Faculty and Staff Membership
Members
Membership is available to MU benefit-eligible faculty or staff members who meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Contribute or pledge one of the amounts listed below, over no more than a 10-year period.
- All prior gifts to the University of Missouri and company matching gifts count toward membership.
- Irrevocable trusts are included as an outright gift or pledge.
| Membership Levels | Outright Gifts or Pledges |
*Testamentary Gifts |
| Member | $12,500 | $25,000 |
| Fellow | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| Distinguished Fellow | $50,000 | $100,000 |
| Very Distinguished Fellow | $125,000 | $250,000 |
| Diplomat | $250,000 | $500,000 |
| Ambassador | $500,000 | $1 million |
*Testamentary gifts signify the intention to donate by means of a bequest, life insurance or other type of deferred gift.
Other Memberships with School, College and Program Gift Clubs
Jefferson Club members also may enjoy membership in other MU school, college or program gift clubs. Upon joining another gift club, membership in the Jefferson Club is assumed unless otherwise specified.