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INCAE Giving Day 2022: the more you give, the more you will receive

November 14 2022
Institutional comunication

*Interview with Wendy Rodríguez. Director of Institutional Advancement LatAm, of INCAE Business School.

They say that the more you give, the more you will receive. Throughout time, humanistic or business philosophies have supported the principles of reciprocity. And this sense of correspondence applies at all levels: individuals, companies, institutions or countries. At INCAE we know it well. 
Thanks to the generosity of its community and allies, INCAE continues to transform lives. The donations received by the best business school in Latin America are used for noble purposes, such as granting scholarships or supporting Impact Centers. This year, with the proceeds from the INCAE Giving Day 2022 the goal is to strengthen the Annual Fund. 

INCAE Giving Day 2022, to be held from November 18 to 29, will use the magic of virtuality to unite the community of donors, allies and graduates for several days in a series of forums with experts in the topics of social investment, investment attraction, valuable talent added, digital transformation to achieve customer loyalty, and more. Indeed: INCAE would like to thank its network of allies for their support, providing them with the most valuable thing it has: the intellectual capital of its exhibitors and conversations with high-level panelists.

To talk about this exciting topic, we spoke with Wendy Rodríguez, director of Institutional Advancement LatAm, who excitedly told us: “This year we want the entire allied community and the Incaísta family to participate. Not only students and graduates, but also our internal and external allies who, year after year, support this great institution in different ways. We want you to know that this institutional party is not only dedicated to the Incaists, but to all of us who feel part of this great family, from anywhere in the world.” 

Everything adds up on INCAE Giving Day 2022

All donations add up to this altruistic work. The contributions will allow many young people to have financial support to enter our programs, continue with their academic preparation and, later, become leaders in the region. Rodríguez specifies: “We want our donors to say: 'Today it could be $100 dollars, and if the following year goes better, I could give $1000. From $10 to $10 or $100 to $100 we can raise a scholarship of $100 dollars and help three, four, five young people to live what many of us, Incaists, already live'”. 

Currently, INCAE's Annual Fund plays a crucial role in this important institutional mission, but it is insufficient to meet the high need for scholarships and financial aid, while other important research and impact projects continue, as well as the constant update of the digital and physical infrastructure of the campus. With INCAE Giving Day 2022, we aspire to cover part of what an Endowment Fund would generate for us, such as the one held by the best business schools in the world, of which INCAE is a part. 

“As you know –adds Rodríguez–, INCAE was born with a debt and not with a Patrimonial Fund. Since the foundation, Don Chico de Sola together with Don JJ Vallarino and the other members of the Council discussed the importance of creating a Patrimonial Fund and although there were some initiatives, the most solid was that of the INCAE Foundation, when it was created in the 80s The Foundation for Management Education in Central America, that today manages a patrimonial fund, whose yields are assigned to Scholarships for MBA students.

The Annual Fund currently receives one million one hundred thousand, one million 200 thousand… up to a million and a half every year”. Rodríguez – also an Incaista – specifies that for the Annual Fund to function as the returns of an Endowment Fund, it should be generating at least $3 million dollars and thus represent 10% of the annual operating budget.

The donations of the Inca Community to the alma mater also have an additional positive impact on the institutional image. Rodríguez explains: “Some rankings ask how many donors the institution has, how many of those donors are companies, how many are graduates and how many are foundations and how they grow each year. The rankings also measure that loyalty and those numbers say a lot”.

INCAE's fundraising efforts go through the entire institution, affirms the interviewee: “The Chancellor and the deans play a critical role in fundraising. By showing the results of the institution, the Chancellor leads the fundraising efforts. Everything that the deans, the commercial areas and the Impact Centers do is the best letter of introduction and contributes to the fundraising efforts”.

As already mentioned, INCAE Giving Day 2022 will use the magic of virtuality to unite the network of allies for several days in a series of forums by country or region, with experts in social investment, talent and added value, to to thank the support of the donors, offering them the most valuable thing that INCAE and its exhibitors have: their intellectual capital.

"We started on Friday, November 18, with an event for allies in the United States," says Rodríguez, who continues: "On the 21st it is the turn of the Northern Triangle (Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador) with an event on social investment; Tuesday the 22nd is Panama (investment attraction); Wednesday 23, South America (digital transformation, how to develop loyalty); and Thursday, November 24 with Costa Rica (attraction of talent with added value)”.

On Friday the 25th there will be an internal event to present the new virtual classroom and on Tuesday the 29th of November, now, in the INCAE Giving Day, the Dean Camelia Ilie will talk about the future of education, how INCAE stays ahead, and a very high-level panel will share why it makes sense to support INCAE. 

In short, these events will have great allies and graduates talking about why they believe in INCAE, they are people who not only help open doors, they are also willing to put their resources into training more young people in this institution.”

Other distinguished guests are: Professors Andrea Prado, Director of the Strachan Chair for Philanthropy and Social Investment; and Rocío Pastor, Professor of Negotiation, talking about why companies in Costa Rica continue to grow and attract the best talent; Professor Sergio Restrepo, expert in marketing and digital transformation; and Roberto Artavia, President of the INCAE Board of Directors, speaking about foreign investment and how investment in Panama continues to grow.

“The activities seek to strengthen that sense of community; remind us of the value that INCAE provides to the region with hundreds of leaders being trained in its classrooms each year; and what it does through its sceptres of impact for each of our countries. This will make it easier for donors to recognize the value of every dollar they decide to invest in this institution. We are going to broadcast them on YouTube so that no one is left without participating once the Zoom is full. My dream is that seeing all the value that INCAE brings to each one of us and to the region, many of us decide to make a personal contribution. What is in my capacity. The donation to INCAE means commitment, it means: 'I believe; I am part; I want to help the one who comes behind'. That is a donation to INCAE”, concludes Rodríguez.

It is time to give. INCAE Giving Day, 2022.