Adding Puntch to the Campaign

Robyn Puntch, a veteran higher-education fund-raiser, has joined the Institute as director of principal and major gifts. Filling a vacancy in Development and Alumni Relations, Puntch will oversee the Institute’s effort to raise gifts of $100,000 or more, supervising development officers who work on campus as well as in Chicago and New York.

She most recently served as director of development for the UCLA Medical Center and Clinics. Before that, Puntch directed development for UCLA’s Schools of Law and Dentistry.

“I love campaign fund-raising,” says Puntch, who began her new job March 14. “UCLA’s campaign is winding down and I was looking for a new challenge.” Her more than 20 years of development experience also include working for nonprofit service agencies and institutions in Kansas, including the Kansas Children’s Service League. She earned a BA at Wichita State University and attended the University of Kansas School of Law.

Puntch came to campus just after Caltech celebrated passing the $1 billion mark in its “There’s Only One. Caltech” campaign to raise $1.4 billion. “Right now there’s a lot of momentum going. I think we are on a real high and people are interested in learning more about the campaign. Understandably, new construction projects and initiatives such as the Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics and the new information sciences building capture potential donors’ imaginations.

“At the same time, we’ve got real challenges ahead,” Puntch adds. “For example, we’re focusing on raising money for the south student houses, and it’s tricky to do that. Those houses already have names. We have to be more creative in making the case and make sure that alumni are aware that they can participate in the preservation of those amazing houses.” Feelings of nostalgia may even inspire support, as alumni fondly remember their own days of living in the historic houses.

Other important pieces of the campaign are undergraduate financial aid and fellowships for graduate students as well as postdoctoral scholars. The campaign will also support named professorships, fund research efforts, and replenish Caltech’s endowment.

Puntch also plans to expand the national donor prospect pool. “We’ll be doing events across the country to introduce people to specific campaign priorities” in get-togethers ranging from small dinners in people’s homes to lectures, she says.

The Caltech Associates-—entrepreneurs, alumni philanthropists, faculty, and community leaders--- who provide financial support to the Institute—are highly involved in helping alumni and friends learn about Caltech. While most alumni live in California, the campaign wants to make a point of letting out-of-state residents know that they, too, play a critical role in the campaign’s success. That message may best be conveyed through in-person contact, she says. “President Baltimore, division heads, and faculty members are all hitting the road.”

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