How to Get School Funding for Atlanta Tzu Ching

Shuyan (Fiona) Li

OAM 330

Persuasion Essay: How to Get School Funding for Atlanta Tzu Ching

【Organization Background】

Atlanta Tzu Ching is a student humanitarian organization established in August 2010 at Emory University. Up till now, it proudly owns over 200 members including not only Emory students, but also Emory alumni and students from other universities like Georgia Tech of Institutes, University of Georgia, and Georgia State University. With a great mission to relieve of people in need, and create a more harmonious environment, Atlanta Tzu Ching is dedicated to serving local community with sincere care, kindness, and compassion. Through various service activities both on campus and in the Atlanta area, Atlanta Tzu Ching hopes to foster a community of gratitude, respect, and love, and inspire others to lead their lives with greater compassion and humanities.

Atlanta Tzu Ching focuses on caring not only people but also all the beings and the environment. We hold activities on a weekly basis, including trees planting, visits to local nursing homes, autism center visits, environment protection promotions, etc.

【Current Issues】

        While Atlanta Tzu Ching has been working pretty successfully these years with a variety of meaningful activities as well as its great contributions to the local community, it is currently facing a major problem of appealing to sufficient funds for all the activities it holds. Despite all efforts to promote at Emory Activity Fair and apply at both College Council (CC) and Student Government Association (SGA), it seemed to achieve little success. As former president of Atlanta Tzu Ching, I am concerned about the future sustainable development of Atlanta Tzu Ching. I hereby hope to try my best to get school funding approved for this student humanitarian organization, with the use of Cialdini’s “6 Influence Tactics”1.

【Statement – Reciprocity】

        As Cialdini mentioned in “Influence”, reciprocity is a seemingly universal norm of turn taking and exchange. Therefore, before the hearing and my formal statement, I will give representatives from CC or SGA an elaborately-made bookmark, with a piece of “Jing Si Aphorism” telling life philosophies and a preserved flower made of recyclable materials. These two gifts, deliberately made and designed by members themselves, perfectly represent the essence of the organization: There is always more goodness in the world than there appears to be, because goodness is of its very nature modest and retiring.

【Statement – Authority & Reciprocity】

        To start with, according to the information on 25Live2, of 623 registered student held organizations and Greek organizations, there are only seven student organizations (including “Law Volunteer Clinic for Veterans”, a clinic for Veterans in Law School) in the category of volunteer and humanity, among which Atlanta Tzu Ching is one of the oldest and biggest. In other words, Atlanta Tzu Ching are more experienced in organization of volunteer activities, which grants it authority in this specific field. Therefore, from the perspective of authority, what Atlanta Tzu Ching does tends to lead the direction of most on-campus volunteer organizations. If Atlanta Tzu Ching is funded and supported by school, it is able to serve the community with greater dedications, which will be followed by other volunteer organizations on campus. With combined efforts, Emory Tzu Ching can reciprocate Emory University with a more human and harmonious environment.