University Advancement Annual Giving Program Review 2010 Prepared By: Mike Welch Associate Vice President, Annual Giving and Alumni Relations Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jack Meek, Professor of Public Administration Submitted to: Jean Bjerke Vice President, University Advancement 1
Table of Contents Page Executive Summary 3 I. Purpose and Mission of Annual Giving 5 II. Goals 5 III. Description and Capacity of the Program 5 Administrative Support Programs 6 Annual Giving Programs 6 Annual Giving Constituent Segmentation 6 Donor Loyalty Solicitation Appeals 8 Comparison with Peer Institution 9 IV. Effectiveness Indicators 9 V. Findings 9 Goal 1. Increase Annual Number of Donors 9 Goal 2. Increase Annual Giving 11 Goal 3. Maintain Positive Attitude Among Alumni 11 Goal 4. Maintain Sense of Financial Responsibility 12 VI. Action Recommendations 13 Five Year Strategic Plan 13 Programs to be Developed 14 VII. Action Plans 15 Appendices A. Organizational Chart 16 B. Peer Comparison 17 C. Giving by Degree, Location and Major 18 D. Multi-Year Giving with Projections 29 E. Multi-Year Giving From Last Ten Years 31 F. Alumni Survey Response and Results 40 2
Executive Summary The purpose of this program review was to examine the Annual Giving Program at the University of La Verne, to describe the programs and the capacity of the program as a whole to carry out its mission, and to identify its effectiveness, including areas of strength as well as challenges. Mission: La Verne Annual Giving: Annual Giving provides a dependable source of annual gift revenue to the President and Deans that maximizes resources to a broad array of programs across the University. Annual Giving serves as a primary vehicle for donors to annually support core operating priorities of La Verne academic, scholarships, faculty retention, library and student services. These funds provide the flexibility to seize important opportunities that arise. Goals and Objectives 1. Consistently increase the number of donors who make annual gifts to La Verne 2. Consistently increase annual giving revenue to La Verne 3. Maintain a positive attitude and a sense of connectedness among alumni towards the University of La Verne 4. Maintain a sense of responsibility on the part of alumni to continue to support the University of La Verne financially Indicators The data used in this review involved direct measures of trend information regarding number of donors in different categories, as well as donor amounts associated with these categories. Also, survey data was used to assess the attitudes of alumni about the university, their sense of connectedness, and their sense of financial responsibility. Highlights of Findings La Verne s University Advancement staff in proportion to enrollment numbers and numbers of alumni lags significantly behind peer institutions. Number of donors over the last ten years has increased in certain categories such as non-alumni parents, faculty and staff, and has declined overall and in certain categories such as friends only, and organizations. Dollar amounts have increased in some areas such as unrestricted funds, agency funds, friends only, and faculty and staff, and has declined overall, and in areas of unrestricted cash gifts, gifts in kind, annuity fund, organization gifts and trust/life income. Most alumni surveyed have a positive attitude towards La Verne, however, there is room for improvement in creating a greater sense of connectedness and financial responsibility. Most alumni who donate come from the following programs: Business Administration, Juris Doctorate, and School Counseling; within CAS most come form Psychology, Biology, English, sociology and history; Within CBPM most come from Business Administration, Business Management, and Business Organization, and Public Administration; Within CEOL most come form School Counseling, Educational Management, Special Emphasis, Diversified, and Educational Leadership. 3
Action Recommendations The findings suggest the following action recommendations: A. Implement a five-year annual giving strategic plan that includes: 1. Annual donor and dollar goals 2. Operating Plan to reach those goals 3. New programs development and implementation plan 4. Budgeting and staffing needs including comprehensive job descriptions and performance evaluation 5. Developing comprehensive business rules for annual giving operating systems, ROI, gift reporting, donor club system, segment and appeal code result analysis, predictive modeling and donor research 6. Contracting with a telemarketing vendor to conduct and manage a fully operational and comprehensive telemarketing program 7. Instituting a university-wide donor recognition and stewardship program that is donor-centric and unifies all annual giving donors to La Verne 8. Hiring an annual giving consulting firm to meet three-times a year for three years to analyze results and assess the progress of the annual giving programs 9. Contracting with a website design vendor B. Programs to be developed Leadership Annual Giving Program; Acquiring renewable gifts from individuals and organizations at the level of $1,000 and above 1. Personal solicitation of $1,000+ annual giving donors 2. Volunteer leadership development 3. Leadership donor honor rolls 4. Leadership annual giving donor recognition system 5. Prospect screening and cultivation 6. Gift club management system Parent Annual Giving Program; Giving from parents of current traditional aged undergraduate students attending the main campus 1. Identification, screening and cultivation 2. Parent data collection 3. Leadership parent donor personal solicitation 4. Parents Weekend 5. Parent volunteer development 6. Parent leadership donor events, stewardship and activities 7. Parent communication, education, direct mail, telemarketing and e communication/solicitation Undergraduate senior class giving, graduate student, recent graduate and young alumni giving programs; Giving programs dedicated to increasing participation of current students at all levels and recently graduated students from all programs. 1. Leadership donor solicitation 2. Volunteer leadership development 3. Undergraduate student education initiative 4. Senior class giving awareness events and activities 5. Young alumni and recent graduate awareness campaign 6. Direct mail, telemarketing and e solicitation campaign Reunion giving program-far future; Giving campaigns that include messaging which associates donations with the individual donor s graduation year. For example, the University of La Verne Class of 1968 Endowed Scholarship Fund in 4
which class of 1968 alumni are donating to reach a goal of $50,000 over a five year period. 1. Reunion class giving programs for undergraduate and graduate classes Annual giving e communications and marketing program; An electronic communications program that is used to send solicitation and non-solicitation communications. Develop e newsletters, e honor rolls, e videos, podcasts, etc. Develop programs that enhance improve the sense of alumni feeling important and part of the community, and an increased send of financial responsibility. I. Purpose and Mission of Annual Giving The purpose of this program review is to examine the Annual Giving Program at the University of La Verne, to describe the programs and the capacity of the program as a whole to carry out its mission, and to identify its effectiveness, including areas of strength as well as challenges. A donor-centric, comprehensive, annual giving program not only secures dependable gift revenue to support the immediate priority needs of the institution, it provides a strategic value of education and cultivator of donor loyalty over a donor s lifetime. Success is not only measured by gift revenues rather by a more complex set of metrics that assess sustainable growth of a prospect base. And, by building a core of loyal annual donors who potentially become major gift, planned gift and or principle ($1million+) gift donors to the University of La Verne. Annual giving sustains a culture of giving and strengthens the relationship overtime between the donor and La Verne. It provides opportunities for annual recognition of giving, encourages habit of giving and creates current and continuous opportunities to be engaged with the life of La Verne and to the have access to its leadership. La Verne inaugurated its new donor-centric annual giving program in the summer of 2008 that essentially acquires and recognizes all annual gifts. Advancement is a centrally managed model that requires La Verne to reconsider core strategies and operating principles and budget support that surround annual giving programs. University of La Verne Mission: A values-based independent University, where students from a wide variety of backgrounds study and earn their degree(s) in a highly personalized educational environment taught and mentored by gifted teachers and scholars, located in the heart of Southern California. Mission: La Verne Annual Giving: Annual Giving provides a dependable source of annual gift revenue to the President and Deans that maximizes resources to a broad array of programs across the University. Annual Giving serves as a primary vehicle for donors to annually support core operating priorities of La Verne academic, scholarships, faculty retention, library and student services. These funds provide the flexibility to seize important opportunities that arise. II. Goals 1. Consistently increase the number of donors who make annual gifts to La Verne 2. Consistently increase annual giving revenue to La Verne 3. Maintain a positive attitude and a sense of connectedness among alumni towards the University of La Verne 5
4. Maintain a sense of responsibility on the part of alumni to continue to support the University of La Verne financially III. Description and Capacity of the Program Personnel Appendix A presents the organizations chart of the office of Alumni Giving/Alumni relations. The following personnel are identified: Associate Vice President Annual Giving and Alumni Relations Assistant Director of Annual Giving Annual Giving Writer and Special Projects (p/t) Director Donor Relations & Special Events Appendix B, first chart, shows staffing at La Verne in comparison with seven other peer institutions. La Verne ranks 7th in University Advancement staff with 19.5 members, and 8th in Alumni Relations staff with only two members. Supervisory relationships Associate Vice President reports to Vice President University Advancement Turnover of Personnel In past three years two full-time positions have been eliminated Director of Annual Giving and Assistant Director of Special Events Inventory of basic equipment Renovated facility complete Upgraded computers complete New furniture complete Computer software and OIT technical support staff completely inadequate Workspace very adequate Material and equipment adequate Operating Budget The budget is critically inadequate. Budgets and staffing have been significantly reduced in a time where growth in staff and program is essential to increase donors and annual gift dollars to La Verne. Administrative Support Programs Budget and best practices development 3-year budget development and written best practices procedures manual development Staff recruitment, training and retention programs Develop and implement process and written procedures Resource management Return on Investment (ROI) metrics and analysis Professional development 1. Attend professional conferences 2. Make presentations at professional conferences 3. Belong to professional list-serve, on-line groups Annual Giving Programs 6
The following are the annual giving programs and activities: A. La Verne Annual Giving 1. Direct mail By constituency groups (see addendum) By donor loyalty segments (see addendum) By giving level By calendar 2. Telemarketing (Same as above) 3. E Solicitation 4. E communications 5. Website design and development On-line giving On-line events RSVP Annual Giving President s Associates University Advancement Events 6. Printed communications Brochures, envelop inserts, magazine ads, testimonials 7. Constituency data collection system 8. Green and Orange Society 3-year consecutive donor recognition and stewardship program to promote consistent giving 9. Operating systems and best practice processes 10. Reporting and data analysis 11. Gift policies and procedures B. Donor Relations, Stewardship and Special Events 1. Donor thank you system 2. Special events and activities by the University and by each of the Colleges 3. Donor courtesies 4. Targeted and timely communications from the President and/or other administrative leaders and faculty Annual Giving Constituent Segmentations Alumni Undergraduate Degree Alumni by College and/or Major within College 1. College of Arts and Sciences 2. College of Business and Public Management 3. College of Education and Organizational Leadership 4. College of Law 5. RCA Graduate Degree Alumni (same as above) Non-Degree Alumni Parent Alumni Parent of current student Non-Alumni Parent of current student 1. 1 st year undergraduate parent 2. Continuing undergraduate parent 7
Student 3. Senior year undergraduate parent 4. Past parent donors Current Undergraduate Student 1. 1 st year student 2. Continuing student 3. Senior Year Student Current Graduate Students 1. Continuing student 2. Graduate student Recent Alumni Graduates Undergraduates 1-9 years after graduation Graduates 1-4 years after graduation Faculty/Staff Current Faculty/Staff Emeriti Faculty Adjunct Faculty Friends Special events Corporations Matching Gifts Foundations Family Foundations University Library Wilson Associates Athletics La Verne Athletic Associates Athletic department Athletic teams Donor Loyalty Solicitation Appeals Solicitation Mode Personal Ask Telemarketing Direct Mail e-solicitation Magazine Ad & Inserts Donor Loyalty Appeals Renewal Donors 1 st Time donors 8
Re-active donors Consistent donors 2-10 years+ Leadership donors renewal and upgrades 1. $50,000+ 2. $25,000 3. $10,000 4. $ 5,000 5. $ 2,500 6. $ 1,000 2 nd Ask Donors 1 st gift under $1,000 Lapsed Donors One year lapsed Two-Four year lapsed 5-9 year lapsed Acquisition (non-donor) Current Undergraduate Parent Student and Recent Graduates Donors to La Verne other than to the La Verne Annual Fund 10+ years lapsed donors Alumni Never-giver Comparison with peer institutions Appendix B, adopted form the Chronicle of Higher Education, November 6, 2009, based on the 2008 CAE/VSE report, compares and ranks La Verne with eight other selected peer institutions on enrollment, tuition, and number of alumni donors and fundraising. La Verne ranks 4 th in number of alumni with 40,965 members, and ranks 7 th in number of alumni donors with 1893 contributors, a 4.5% participation. Moreover, La Verne ranks 7 th in revenue and tuition, and ranks 9 th in fundraising with $4.9 million. The following table presents the proportion of enrollments and numbers of alumni to University Advancement staff for La Verne and several peer institutions, estimated from the tables in Appendix B; as may be seen, La Verne lags behind significantly. Enrollment/U. Adv. Alumni/U. Adv. University of La Verne 274/1 2100/1 Pepperdine 83/1 1023/1 Azusa Pacific 115/1 906/1 Redlands 118/1 628/1 Cal Lutheran 141/1 744/1 IV. Effectiveness Indicators A. Direct indicators donors by degree, location, college, major, and relationship to the University of La Verne, and amounts of contribution by different constituencies B. Indirect indicator Survey of alumni to assess their attitude and sense of financial responsibility toward the University of La Verne 9
V. Findings Goal 1: Consistently increase the number of donors who make annual gifts to La Verne A. Number of Alumni Current status Appendix C provides the breakdown of alumni participation by degree, location, college, and major based on the most current non-trend snapshot data available as of 2009. Altogether La Verne has 51,978 mailable alumni addresses, 2,246 of who are donors, indicating a participation rate of 4.3%. In terms of degrees, the top three donor counts come from BA, BS, and MS. The top three participation rates come from alumni with degrees in MA (11%), Ed.D., (9%), BA (9%). MA Teaching comes with 42% participation rate with only 5 donor out of 12. In terms of campus location, the Undesignated category is the highest with 32% participation rate; the other high participation rates come from the College of Law (9%), the Main Campus (8%), DPA (8%) and Ed.D. (6%). The top three donor counts come from the Main Campus, RCA (SCE), and CAPA. In terms of majors overall, the highest donor counts come from Business Administration (495), major undeclared or unknown (355), Juris Doctorate (105), and School Counseling (90). As for known majors grouped by college, from College of Arts and Sciences the top 5 donor counts come from Psychology (59), Biology (52), English (46) Sociology (33) and History (31%); from the College of Business and Public Management the top 5 donor counts come from Business Administration (495), Organizational Management (87), Public Administration (83), Business Management (54), and Business Organization (48); from the College of Education and Organizational Leadership the top 5 donor counts come from School Counseling (90), Educational Management (71), Special Emphasis (69), Diversified (38), and Educational Leadership (37) tied with Physical Education (37). B. Number of Alumni and Other Groups Giving Multi-year Projections Appendix D shows multi-year giving with projections by alumni and others in multiple graphs. The second graph compares the number of alumni and non-alumni donors. In 2009 the alumni composed 87% (1850) of the total number of donor and 13% (496) were non-alumni. By 2015 it is projected that the total number will increase by 72% from 2156 to 4350, the number of alumni donors will increase by 81% to 3350, and the non-alumni will increase by 41% to 770. Appendix E shows a number of charts that the trend of donors over the last ten years, and the amounts donated. The second chart shows alumni and non-alumni donors between 2000/2001 and 2009. A. Decline in number of donors The overall numbers declined by 15%; the alumni numbers declined by 5% and non-alumni by 24%. There appears to be a general dip starting 2006 in all three categories. However, in parallel, as the first chart shows, it is interesting to note that there was a significant increase in the amount of giving to over $11 million in 2006, exceeding that of 2001, followed by decline in the following three years. The overall decline the last few years may be attributed to the economic environment, and is inline with the reported decline by non-profits nationally. 10
The other charts show, since 2000, that the number of donors in certain categories declined. Friends only donor count declined from 483 to 341 (29%); and, the organization donor count declined from 295 to 170 (42%). B. Increase in number of donors The number of donor in other categories increased. The non-alumni parent donor count increased from 33 to 65 (49%); the faculty and staff donor count went up from 84 to 180 (114%) with a noticeable and stable increase since 2006; similarly, the non-alumni faculty and staff only donor count went up from 85 to 201 (136%), again with a noticeable and stable increase since 2006. In summary, regarding goal 1, while the overall number of donors declined together with some of the categories such as friends only and organization donors, the number of donors increased in a number of categories such as non-alumni parents, faculty and staff donors and non-alumni faculty and staff. Goal 2: Consistently increase annual giving revenue to La Verne Appendix E shows trend data in amount of giving by different categories. On the whole, not unexpectedly, the trends of the amounts given follow the trends of the donor counts. Some categories have increased and some have declined. A. Declined Categories The overall giving declined 62% from about $10.7 million in 2000, to $4.1 million in 2009, with a significant increase in 2006 to an amount of about $11 million. The other areas of decline are in the categories of current fund unrestricted cash gifts (14%); gifts in-kind declined significantly from about $2.6 million after 2001and stayed low to $ 170K in 2009; the annuity fund, organization gift, and the trust/life income funds showed a very similar trend. B. Increased Categories All current unrestricted funds went up 11% between 2001 and 2009 with a significant increase in 2007 of 78% to an amount of about $1.2 million; agency fund increased from about $13K to $26K (94%); friends only gift dollar amount increased from about $414K to $571K (38%) with a significant pick of about $4.7 million in 2006; non-alumni parent only gift dollar amount increased from about $27K to $86K (216%) with significant peaks of over $300K in 2004 and 2005; all faculty and staff gift dollar amounts increased from about $61K to $203K (235%) with a significant peak to about $803K in 2004; and non-alumni, faculty and staff only gift dollar amount increased from about $52K to $179K (238%). In summary, regarding goal 2, the overall dollar amount of giving declined in the last ten years; giving also declined in given categories of unrestricted cash gifts, gifts in kind, annuity and trust/life income; however, dollar amounts increase on a number of categories such as agency funds, friends only gift, non-alumni parents, and faculty and staff gifts. Goal 3: Maintain a positive attitude and a sense of connectedness among alumni towards the University of La Verne 11
To address goal 3 and 4 an electronic survey was conducted of alumni. Appendix F summarizes the findings of the survey in terms of frequency of responses. Altogether 20,646 emails were sent with 3.7% bouncing back. The number of alumni who opened the email was 3107 (16%), and of those 1298 (41%) clicked into the survey from the email, and 42 opted out. The number of alumni who submitted their responses was 1100, 87% of those who clicked on the survey, and 35% of those who opened the email. The survey had three questions dealing with attitudes (Goal 3) and two questions dealing with connectedness (Goal 3), and one question dealing with sense of financial responsibility (Goal 4). No demographic data was gathered. Attitudes Regarding responses to the attitudes questions, the following was obtained: 1. How would you rate your educational experience as a student while at La Verne? A high of 84% said Excellent (46%) or Very Good (38%). 2. How were you treated by most faculty and staff at La Verne? A high of 87% said Excellent (54%) or Very Good (33%). 3. I have, or will, encourage others to attend the University of La Verne. A high of 91% said yes. Connectedness Regarding responses to the connectedness questions, the following was obtained: 1. As a graduate, La Verne makes me feel like an important part of the community. About two-thirds, 69%, said Very True (35%) or Somewhat True (34%). 2. La Verne keeps me well informed about current happenings and important accomplishments of the University. A high of 85% said Very True (57%) or Somewhat True (28%). Goal 4: Maintain a sense of responsibility on the part of alumni to continue to support the University of La Verne financially Sense of financial responsibility Regarding responses to the survey question on financial responsibility, the following was obtained: 1. As a graduate of La Verne, I feel it is important for me to support my alma mater financially and my support matters to the University. Only 22% said Very True, and 31% said Somewhat True, for a total of 53% of endorsement of the statement. In summary, regarding goal 3 and 4, it appears that among the responding alumni there is a high degree of positive attitude toward La Verne, and being well informed about the university events and accomplishments. However, there is room for improvement in terms of feeling important and part of the community, as well as a sense of financial responsibility to support the University. 12
Overall Summary Strengths La Verne is one of the oldest and well established private universities in Southern California with over 40,000 alumni La Verne is distinguished for personalized teaching excellence and preparing traditional and older adult students for professional careers in education, law, business, public health and public management La Verne graduates have very positive feelings about their educational experience and quality of teaching while a student Alumni, parents and friends have not been overly solicited for annual gifts to La Verne University Advancement recognizes the strategic importance of a strong centralized annual giving program Most alumni who donate come from the following programs: Business Administration, Juris Doctorate, and School Counseling; within CAS most come form Psychology, Biology, English, sociology and history; Within CBPM most come from Business Administration, Business Management, and Business Organization, and Public Administration; Within CEOL most come form School Counseling, Educational Management, Special Emphasis, diversified, and Educational Leadership. Challenges Limited staff and program resources to provide comprehensive, donor-centric and centralized annual giving program Limited or non-existent education, cultivation and/or marketing to core constituencies through space ads, web sites, e-communications, printed materials and direct mail Minimal centralized annual giving donor recognition system and stewardship program No centralized personal solicitation of leadership donor gift acquisition, renewal or upgrade renewals Minimal telemarketing, direct mail and e-solicitation program Minimal segmentation of constituency-based annual giving programs to acquire gifts from core categories of potential donors 1. alumni by college and degree 2. graduating and undergraduate seniors 3. recent graduates by college and degree 4. 5-year reunion giving by alumni 5. current parents of undergraduate students 6. current students by college and degree 7. corporations, foundations and family foundations 8. faculty and staff 9. friends Room for improvement in making alumni feel part of the community Room for improvement in increasing the sense of financial responsibility VI. Action Recommendations A. Implement a five-year annual giving strategic plan that includes: 10. Annual donor and dollar goals 13
11. Operating Plan to reach those goals 12. New programs development and implementation plan 13. Budgeting and staffing needs including comprehensive job descriptions and performance evaluation 14. Developing comprehensive business rules for annual giving operating systems, ROI, gift reporting, donor club system, segment and appeal code result analysis, predictive modeling and donor research 15. Contracting with a telemarketing vendor to conduct and manage a fully operational and comprehensive telemarketing program 16. Instituting a university-wide donor recognition and stewardship program that is donor-centric and unifies all annual giving donors to La Verne 17. Hiring an annual giving consulting firm to meet three-times a year for three years to analyze results and assess the progress of the annual giving programs 18. Contracting with a website design vendor B. Programs to be developed Leadership Annual Giving Program 7. Personal solicitation of $1,000+ annual giving donors 8. Volunteer leadership development 9. Leadership donor honor rolls 10. Leadership annual giving donor recognition system 11. Prospect screening and cultivation 12. Gift club management system Parent Annual Giving Program 8. Identification, screening and cultivation 9. Parent data collection 10. Leadership parent donor personal solicitation 11. Parents Weekend 12. Parent volunteer development 13. Parent leadership donor events, stewardship and activities 14. Parent communication, education, direct mail, telemarketing and e communication/solicitation Undergraduate senior class giving, graduate student, recent graduate and young alumni giving programs 7. Leadership donor solicitation 8. Volunteer leadership development 9. Undergraduate student education initiative 10. Senior class giving awareness events and activities 11. Young alumni and recent graduate awareness campaign 12. Direct mail, telemarketing and e solicitation campaign Reunion giving program-far future 2. Reunion class giving programs for undergraduate and graduate classes Annual giving e communications and marketing program Develop e newsletters, e honor rolls, e videos, podcasts, etc. Develop programs that enhance improve the sense of alumni feeling important and part of the community, and an increased send of financial responsibility. 14
VII. Action Plans: Proposed New Annual Giving Programs 15
Appendix A Organization Chart and Job Descriptions Associate Vice President Annual Giving/Alumni Relations Filled Admin. Assistant New Executive Director Alumni Relations Filled Director Special Events Filled Director Leadership Giving New Director Annual Giving New Admin Assistant Alumni Relations Filled Admin Assistant Special Events New Admin. Assistant Annual Giving New Director Alumni Relations CBPM/ Regional Programming New Director Alumni Relations E- Comm. CAS/CEOL New Director Alumni Relations CAPA, Athletics, Greeks, Home Coming New Director Alumni Career Services New Assistant Director Special Events New Assistant Director Parent Giving New Assistant Director Student & Recent Grad Giving New Assistant Director DM, TM, Data Manager Filled Assistant Director AG Communica tion New AG Project Manager ½ Time 16
Appendix B La Verne Compared to other institutions 17
Appendix C Giving by Degree, Location, Major, College and Giving by Degree 18
Giving by Location Giving by Major 19
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Giving by College, Sorted By Donor Count 23
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Giving by College Showing Participation Rates within Majors 26
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Appendix D Multi-Year Giving Charts with Projections 29
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Appendix E Multi-Year Giving Charts From Last Ten Years 31
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Appendix F Alumni Survey Response and Results 40
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