Prescott College Inc

Prescott College is participating in Arizona Gives Day with our very own Cowboy Dollar Drive!

Have You Heard About the Cowboy Dollars?

Cowboy dollars loom large in they mythos of Prescott College. If you’ve ever heard President Emeritus and current faculty member Jim Stuckey tell the story of how the College survived bankruptcy in its early days, you’d know. To borrow liberally from Sam Henrie’s Uncommon Education …

In a community meeting the morning of December 18, 1974, after the shock of the bankruptcy announcement subsided, one faculty member, then another stood to say that the College isn’t a physical plant and campus land—it is the people who learn and teach here. It is the academic and spiritual community. Other facilities could be arranged.

Later that day faculty, staff and students gathered on the soccer field of what is now the Prescott campus of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. They divided into small groups to discuss alternative facilities and plan how programs could be continued. When they regrouped to share their ideas, they realized that keeping in touch once they left for winter break would be a problem, so “the start-up fund,” as Jim Stuckey called it, was established.

Beginning with one resolute student, each person began to pull the warm, worn and crumpled one-, five-, and ten-dollar bills from their pockets, throwing them into the center of the circle. This was the group of people and the “cowboy dollars” (as Jim Stuckey refers to them) that would ensure the survival of Prescott College. The idea of whole person experiential education dedicated to the values of community service, environmental responsibility, and social justice would go on.

Unite to Build a Better Tomorrow

The people who gave the original cowboy dollars simply wanted the idea of Prescott College to survive. Your contribution on Arizona Gives Day ensures the idea of Prescott College will thrive. In honor of the people who believed in Prescott College enough to give the original cowboy dollars, we ask that you reach into your pockets and heart on April 9, 2014 and throw your cowboy dollars down.

Reach Our Goal

The cowboy dollars raised on December 18, 1974, amounted to $235 (just over $1,100 in today’s economy). Thanks to a generous donor, we’re aiming a little higher for Prescott College’s very first Arizona Gives Day Cowboy Dollar Drive. 

Interim President John Van Domelen has pledged $5,000 as a matching challenge to our community and those who would join us. Your gift will be matched, cowboy dollar for cowboy dollar, until we reach the total goal of $10,000 to be raised in 24 hours!

 

NOTE: All funds raised on Arizona Gives Day are for the Prescott College Annual Fund for Academic Excellence which is an unrestricted fund that offsets the College's bottom line.