The end of this year brings the official end to what has been an “aggressive” University of Iowa Foundation campaign to raise $1.7 billion. But the foundation expects to blow past its goal this week — with nearly 10 months to spare.
More than 194,140 donors to date have contributed to the goal, which some worried might be too ambitious when the campaign was launched in 2008 — the year historic flooding devastated the campus and a crippling recession gripped the nation.
“It felt aggressive,” said Catherine Zaharis, director of professional-employer development with the UI Henry B. Tippie College of Business and chairwoman of the UI Foundation board of directors. “But that’s what you have to do to motivate yourself to accomplish good things.”
Zaharis said foundation and university officials are thrilled to be reaching their goal early, but that accomplishment won’t end the campaign. It will push on through Dec. 31 — as planned.
“We are hitting the mark, but that doesn’t mean we are easing up at all,” she said.
The 2008 flood shifted the campaign’s focus to one more centered on facilities than it might have otherwise been, Zaharis said. And issues facing the university today are much different from those at the campaign’s inception.
“There are so many new needs,” she said. “So as soon as we close this campaign, we will start thinking about priorities for the next one, and we can start instituting some of those during this one as we continue.”
Although major gifts enabling high-profile projects dotted the campaign from start to finish — think the Stead Family UI Children’s Hospital, Stephen A. Wynn Institute for Vision Research, Stew and Lenore Hansen Football Performance Center, and Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center — Zaharis said small gifts have been just as important and prevalent.
“That’s the beauty of it,” she said. “We also have dance marathon, which is big dollars coming from individual college students who are thinking about the need to give back.”
In fact, a majority of the campaign’s gifts — 61 percent — were under $100, according to UI Foundation data requested by The Gazette. Gifts between $100 and $5,000 accounted for 36 percent of the gifts, and those between $5,000 and $50,000 made up just 2 percent of the total.
Only .5 percent of the donations topped $50,000, according to UI Foundation data.
“We certainly are grateful for the larger donors, and those gifts are magnificent,” UI Foundation President Lynette Marshall said. “But it does reflect the importance of the broad base of support that people have provided from not only Iowa, but across the country.”
UI Foundation data provided to The Gazette indicate 57 percent of the campaign’s donors were Iowa-based, and 32 percent were alumni, showing the institution’s reach — beyond those who received degrees, officials said.
The foundation doesn’t know the age of 48 percent of the campaign’s donors — because so many are not alumni and don’t have to provide that data.
But of those whose ages were recorded, 24 percent were over age 60, 20 percent were between 30 and 59, and 8 percent were younger than 30.
Marshall and Zaharis said the campaign’s gifts were spread across the university, depending on donors’ specific interests and passions. To date, the campaign has created more than 550 new undergraduate and graduate scholarships, funded 64 new faculty chairs and professorships, and enabled “vital research and academic programs” across campus.
“Everything comes from the heart,” Zaharis said about donor requests for how their money is used. “Every story is wonderful, and that is the beauty of being on the board. To hear these stories and hear how you can connect so many passions and interests and needs.”
The campaign’s giving also was dispersed over the more than eight years, with this year on track to be the largest fundraising year not only in the campaign, but in foundation history. The best year on record brought in $240 million, and Marshall said this budget year — which will end June 30 — is on track to be 5 to 6 percent ahead of that.
Some students and new alumni are intimidated by the idea of giving money, UI senior Anthony Lehnertz said, because they think they have to commit a lot. But he reminds them that two of Iowa’s biggest givers — Henry Tippie and John Pappajohn — both started their UI giving with $5.
“You never know who the next Henry Tippie is going to be,” he said.
http://www.thegazette.com/subject/n...7-billion-fundraising-goal-this-week-20160307
More than 194,140 donors to date have contributed to the goal, which some worried might be too ambitious when the campaign was launched in 2008 — the year historic flooding devastated the campus and a crippling recession gripped the nation.
“It felt aggressive,” said Catherine Zaharis, director of professional-employer development with the UI Henry B. Tippie College of Business and chairwoman of the UI Foundation board of directors. “But that’s what you have to do to motivate yourself to accomplish good things.”
Zaharis said foundation and university officials are thrilled to be reaching their goal early, but that accomplishment won’t end the campaign. It will push on through Dec. 31 — as planned.
“We are hitting the mark, but that doesn’t mean we are easing up at all,” she said.
The 2008 flood shifted the campaign’s focus to one more centered on facilities than it might have otherwise been, Zaharis said. And issues facing the university today are much different from those at the campaign’s inception.
“There are so many new needs,” she said. “So as soon as we close this campaign, we will start thinking about priorities for the next one, and we can start instituting some of those during this one as we continue.”
Although major gifts enabling high-profile projects dotted the campaign from start to finish — think the Stead Family UI Children’s Hospital, Stephen A. Wynn Institute for Vision Research, Stew and Lenore Hansen Football Performance Center, and Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center — Zaharis said small gifts have been just as important and prevalent.
“That’s the beauty of it,” she said. “We also have dance marathon, which is big dollars coming from individual college students who are thinking about the need to give back.”
In fact, a majority of the campaign’s gifts — 61 percent — were under $100, according to UI Foundation data requested by The Gazette. Gifts between $100 and $5,000 accounted for 36 percent of the gifts, and those between $5,000 and $50,000 made up just 2 percent of the total.
Only .5 percent of the donations topped $50,000, according to UI Foundation data.
“We certainly are grateful for the larger donors, and those gifts are magnificent,” UI Foundation President Lynette Marshall said. “But it does reflect the importance of the broad base of support that people have provided from not only Iowa, but across the country.”
UI Foundation data provided to The Gazette indicate 57 percent of the campaign’s donors were Iowa-based, and 32 percent were alumni, showing the institution’s reach — beyond those who received degrees, officials said.
The foundation doesn’t know the age of 48 percent of the campaign’s donors — because so many are not alumni and don’t have to provide that data.
But of those whose ages were recorded, 24 percent were over age 60, 20 percent were between 30 and 59, and 8 percent were younger than 30.
Marshall and Zaharis said the campaign’s gifts were spread across the university, depending on donors’ specific interests and passions. To date, the campaign has created more than 550 new undergraduate and graduate scholarships, funded 64 new faculty chairs and professorships, and enabled “vital research and academic programs” across campus.
“Everything comes from the heart,” Zaharis said about donor requests for how their money is used. “Every story is wonderful, and that is the beauty of being on the board. To hear these stories and hear how you can connect so many passions and interests and needs.”
The campaign’s giving also was dispersed over the more than eight years, with this year on track to be the largest fundraising year not only in the campaign, but in foundation history. The best year on record brought in $240 million, and Marshall said this budget year — which will end June 30 — is on track to be 5 to 6 percent ahead of that.
Some students and new alumni are intimidated by the idea of giving money, UI senior Anthony Lehnertz said, because they think they have to commit a lot. But he reminds them that two of Iowa’s biggest givers — Henry Tippie and John Pappajohn — both started their UI giving with $5.
“You never know who the next Henry Tippie is going to be,” he said.
http://www.thegazette.com/subject/n...7-billion-fundraising-goal-this-week-20160307
