TRAVERSE CITY -- The idea began last summer, as Nick Glauch interned with the University of Michigan development office.
His job taught him how to be a professional fundraiser. Why not use his knowledge to raise money for his hometown? He could create an endowment fund, and students and teachers could receive grants to benefit their clubs or classrooms.
He pitched the concept one day to friend and fellow 2006 Traverse City West Senior High graduate Alexandra Warbasse as the two drove home together from Ann Arbor.
"It's a four-hour-long car ride, and anyone can tell you I can talk for hours about this thing," said Glauch, a philosophy and economics junior. "She got a mouthful. An earful, I should say."
Warbasse laughed at the memory.
"We realized we needed more people," she said.
The two asked Warbasse's younger brother, Larry, and his friend Kelley Robinson -- both 2008 West graduates and Michigan freshmen -- to join.
The Titan Excellence Fund launched soon thereafter, an ambitious venture born as much on civic service as on school pride.
The fund is intended to benefit West student groups or classroom teachers, and is administered through the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation.
The students have raised about 12 percent of their $25,000 goal amid a silent fundraising phase. They intend to go public once they have secured half of it.
"We're in a new era of public involvement," Glauch said. "We've got to step up and invest in our education for the betterment of our community."
French teacher Kate Kelly became the liaison between the former West students and the school. She passed the word on to other staff members, and is beginning to network with alumni, parents and community groups for contributions.
But, she said, the economic downturn that has worsened throughout much of 2008 could affect how quickly the fund starts operating. No grants can be given until the fundraising goal is met.
"I wouldn't be surprised, personally, if things get off to a little bit of a slow start," Kelly said. "They're not only having to raise money to go into the endowment, they're also having to get their name out there."
A balky beginning certainly is a possibility, said Warbasse, a political science and economics junior at Michigan.
Yet the college students hope their ages and energy inspire possible donors, especially when everyone is watching their pennies.
"It's definitely been an idea in our minds that, you know, maybe this wasn't the best time to take on a huge project like this," she said. "We hope that it really will hit home to people."
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