A Master-ful Thank You
As a fundraiser, you know the power of two small words “thank you.”
Thank you is an acknowledgement of connection, a humble appreciation of a partnership.
These words are always powerful, but sometimes, they are actually prophetic!
That’s the case of this 2009 thank-you note, written by golf great Jordan Speith.
Young Jordan was able to attend Jesuit because of the Joseph M. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Fund.
He thanks the family for their help to “strengthen my academics as well as my golf game.”
He was only 16 when he wrote this note to the family who provided a scholarship at Jesuit College Prep in Texas. He not only thanked them, but also mentions that he’s the Number 1 junior golfer in the nation and shares his dream of winning the Masters.
Jordan Speith realized his dream 6 short years later, when he won the 2015 Masters at only 21-years old!
Jordan was able to accomplish his dreams because of the vision of a generous couple who supported Jesuit.
Terry Murphy ’61 created the scholarship to honor his late father, who had also attended Jesuit.
This is an extraordinary example of the power of a thank you note … and also the power of a scholarship.
As marketing experts, we love this story, but also see it as needing another chapter! Which fundraiser is following up with Jordan to talk about the opportunity of following in the footsteps of Terry Murphy and creating a scholarship of his own!
You can see the original post of Jordan Speith’s thank you note to the Murphy family here.

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