|
Fund-raising effort has immediate impact, holds promise for future, campaign leader says
Q. Four years into UW-Eau Claire’s five-year comprehensive fund-raising campaign, what are your thoughts about the goals set before 2000 and the current progress? A. When we were planning the campaign, we were systematic. We had a plan. We first made some extensive changes in our development efforts based on the results of our feasibility study. Then we set our goal. With input from Foundation board members, we decided on $35 million as a goal that would be challenging yet realistic. Now, here we are, four years into the campaign, and we’re ecstatic at the generous response from our alumni and friends, who've seen the importance of our effort and whose gifts and commitments have already totaled more than $37 million. We’ll continue to get our message out about this important effort to ensure UW-Eau Claire's tradition of excellence for the future — we want to invite every alumnus and friend to be a partner in this.
There continue to be significant needs we are striving to meet. The campaign, by seeking support for university programs that will enable us to address those needs, enhances the university, the region and the state. For example, right now health care facilities are experiencing a critical nursing shortage. An influx of funding for the School of Nursing would allow us to educate more nurses. Currently, enrollment in nursing is limited because of a lack of funding. Private dollars could have a real impact on this nursing shortage. An equally critical teacher shortage is looming — 50 percent of public school teachers in Wisconsin will be eligible to retire in the next seven years. Obviously there is a critical need, and right now the School of Education doesn’t have the financial capacity to educate more teachers. The campaign provides the context to tell these kinds of stories to people with charitable intent and the capacity to give. This past Christmas, we sent Dave and Marilyn Karlgaard a photo in which they’re surrounded by the 14 computer science students who’ve received Karlgaard scholarships. Fourteen students — and that’s going to happen every year. Plus, the Karlgaards are also providing funds for that department for technology improvements and faculty incentives. Now that’s making a difference. Q. In December 2003, the UW-Eau Claire Foundation announced its largest gift, at least $6 million from the estate of Lt. Col. George L. Simpson Jr. What does that mean for UW-Eau Claire and for the campaign? A. The Simpson gift will transform two departments here at UW-Eau Claire: geography/anthropology and intercollegiate athletics. When the entire gift is realized, those departments will have a resource base to draw upon in perpetuity — that’s phenomenal. Just imagine the impact across the university if donors can continue to do that for other departments. Q. While the larger campaign gifts capture a lot of media attention, what do you say to people about the difference they can make, regardless of the size of their gifts? A. Gifts like the Simpson gift are wonderful, but gifts at all levels are needed. In fact, the majority of our campaign will be made up of the total of more modest gifts. We’re very proud that the campaign has had a significant number of lead gifts of considerable size, a number of planned gifts that ensure support into our future, and a multitude of smaller gifts, from annual donations through Telefund and various mailings. It’s been our goal to achieve a broad base of participation. By the campaign’s end, we want to have asked every alumnus and friend of the university to participate in the campaign and to continue making an annual gift commensurate with their capability and interest. When you think about it, people of modest means, if they put some planning into it, can start a scholarship fund with a small gift, and later through an estate gift, they can endow it. That means that, in perpetuity, they will be supporting students through that scholarship. Just think of it — there’s not much else you can do in perpetuity. And if that concept is not important to you, you can give to support what we’re doing now and be here to enjoy the full impact of your generosity. Q. What are some meaningful ways the campaign already is making a difference? A. A great example is the Endowment for Excellence. It had always been our goal to endow our Excellence Fund, which would provide an ongoing, dependable resource to support programs that set UW-Eau Claire apart from other public regional universities — scholarships and awards, faculty/student research, international education, the Honors Program — the list goes on. In fiscal year 2002-03, the Foundation provided $947,000 to the university for scholarships, awards and other programs. Much of that came from the Excellence Fund. As a result of gifts to the campaign, that fund has grown substantially, and we’re beginning to endow it. A portion of the Simpson gift is designated for this endowment. As the Excellence Fund is endowed and more fully supported, the Foundation will have more flexibility to respond to funding requests from the university. That’s big, especially when you see declining funding from the state, which limits the university’s flexibility and capacity. The campaign is having an impact all across our campus. In addition to the Karlgaard and Simpson gifts, other campaign gifts are making a difference in foreign languages, accounting, health care administration, the McIntyre Library, athletics — I could go on and on. And looking ahead, when you think of the significance of David Johnson’s planned gift — to have an endowed chair here in social work someday is fantastic. Other major commitments will ensure endowed chairs in the School of Education, chemistry and the general sciences. It’s wonderful for those programs and their students to know they’ll have the means to recruit and retain additional faculty. Q. What are your hopes for the rest of the campaign? A. There are so many ways private support can continue to make a difference here. When I dream, I like to think what an impact we could have if our School of Education were to have a new, top-notch facility, which would be a key in providing the very best teaching and learning environment, or if we had the means to provide the university and the region with a new, state-of-the-art center that could truly showcase our performing arts. I’d like to see all departments on campus be able to offer the kinds of enriching experiences our communication and journalism department now provides through the Ann Devroy Memorial Fund. Expanding that type of experience — and endowing each program like the Devroy fund is endowed — might be a good structure for our next campaign! But we have to remember, in the end the donors can direct their gifts as they choose, and they know what they want to support. And so we have our priority list, and we do our best to do the matchmaking of that list with the donors’ priorities. I believe there are other alumni and friends out there who, when they hear our case and know the difference they can make, will want to become a part of our work. And by directing charitable resources to support public higher education and help people, donors are touching the future. I can’t think of a better way to do that. Make an online campaign gift now.
|
.jpg)
