On April 24, 2019, An Jong-gil, the Manager of Hanyang University (HYU)’s Office of External Affairs and Development, received the ‘The Best Fundraiser of the Year Award’ at the 2019 Asia Philanthropy Awards (APA).

Q. What is APA?
A. APA encourages leaders who fulfill the spirit of philanthropy around Asia. There are five categories: Philanthropist, Fundraiser, Non-profit Organization, Youth Philanthropist, and Celebrity. APA is run by non-profit activists who are independent from the government and corporations. Citizens and non-profit activists voluntarily participate in operating this group.

Q. How were you able to receive ‘The Best Fundraiser of the Year’ award?
A. As an expert in raising funds in university, I am highly dedicated to revitalizing the overall university donation culture as well as hosting various fundraising campaigns at HYU. So far, I have successfully hosted two large fundraising campaigns and a living scholarship campaign. This brought huge participation of donation from many sponsors and rallied the power of alumni. In addition, I also teach and hold seminars related to college fundraising campaigns around two to three times a year, which incorporates the capability of fundraising experts. Here, I share my know-how for creating fundraising programs through education and topic research presentations.

Q. Please tell us how you felt when you received the award.
A. When I first heard that I was recommended for an APA, I was very surprised. I would like to thank everyone that helped me receive this award. Especially, I would like to express my gratitude toward HYU’s President Kim Woo-seung for leading various campaigns amid difficult economic situations during my fundraising journey.

Q. Please give us a brief description of what you and your fundraising team’s tasks are at HYU.
A. The main tasks of our team consist of collecting development funds, managing donations made by the alumni, and arranging the Memorandum of Understanding with external organizations. In particular, our team focuses on all the works that are related to hosting development funds for the alumni and other stakeholders so that they can be financially helpful in finding out what urgently needs to be resolved at HYU.