RIAS Alumni Donations Bounce Back in 20 21
Private donations to the RIAS Berlin Commission bounced back strongly in 2021 to a total of more than 8,600 Euros, with contributions coming from more than 60 alumni and friends of RIAS in Germany and the United States. The rise in donations coincided with the resumption of RIAS exchange programs, with three programs in September/October 2021 in which 56 journalists from both countries took part. There were no programs in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Those generous donations in 2021 will help make it possible to expand the exchange programs in 2022. All donations raised from alumni and friends of RIAS are being used directly and entirely for additional spots on the exchange programs for journalists between the United States and Germany. There are seven programs planned for 2022: two three-week standard programs for German journalists to the USA in March and October; two two-week standard programs for American journalists in Germany/Brussels in June and September; one three-week program for German students in the USA in March/April; one three-week program for American students to Germany in June/July; and one one-week alumni program for 30 German alumni in Washington/Pennsylvania in October.
The donations in 2021 included 6,650 Euros from 42 alumni and friends of RIAS in Germany and $2,270 from 16 alumni and friends of RIAS in the United States. There was a wide range from individual donors in 2021, from $50 to $750 in the United States and 30 Euros to 800 Euros in Germany. RIAS Berlin Commission says a big thank you to all donors! Large donors ( of 200 Euros or more): Kristian Wiegand, Mitri Sirin, Erik Kirschbaum, Dilek Üsük, Helge Fuhst, Ingo Zamperoni, Anja Heyde, Martin Richter, Anne Sieger, Daniel Prokraka, Andre Schünke, Vivienne Radermacher and Björn Heckmann. And thanks to all those who made substantial donations (of 100 Euros or more): Susann Kalmbach Falkenstein, Iris Ollech, Maren Hellwege-Beck, Michail Paweletz, Kerstin Ruskowski, Gesine Dornbluth, Frauke Holzmeier, Ben Fajzullin, Andreas Mitzkus, Peter Twiehaus, Christian Walther, Vladimir Balzer, Steffi Clodius, Petra Gute, Michael Kolz, Andreas and Lydia Dimmling. Thanks also to the larger donations (of $200 or more) in the USA from: Michael Gargiulo, Karin Caifa, Sarah Williams. Also thanks to those who also made substantial donations: Lane Luckie, Buzz Conover, Bonnie North, Bryan Weakland, Heather Dolce, Miranda Reed, Tracy Terry, Amy Lotz, Cain Butler and Stephanie Wolf.
The alumni chapters set up in Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne, Rhine-Main, Brussels, New York, Washington and Los Angeles are helping spread the message on donations. With more than 1,900 alumni over the last quarter century, the RIAS Berlin Commission is hoping to double the amount of donations.
The RIAS Berlin Commission’s annual Media Prize awards ceremony is tentatively planned for June 2, 2022, in Berlin. There will also be a panel discussion and alumni get-together the following evening in Berlin on June 3, 2022. All alumni are cordially welcome to attend both events. In the United States, alumni get-togethers are planned for Washington, DC on March 11 and in New York City on March 18. There will also be a series of alumni events at the RTDNA Excellence in Journalism convention.
