By Steve Gilliam, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-5371
Posted 7-2-08
GREENSBORO, NC – UNCG is closing in on its $100 million fundraising goal – a year ahead of schedule. Through June 30, UNCG had raised more than $98.3 million through its Students First Campaign.
That fundraising success has been recognized yet again by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), one of the nation’s most influential higher education professional groups.
UNCG will receive one of the CASE 2008 WealthEngine Awards for Educational Fundraising, which recognize “overall performance.” Selection earns UNCG a spot in the CASE “Circle of Excellence.” Last year, UNCG received a similar award for “overall improvement.”
The honor recognizes institutions that show solid program growth, breadth in their support bases and indications of mature, well-maintained programs. UNCG is in very good company – only 13 campuses were named among the top level for large public and private research/doctoral institutions. UNCG’s peers included California-Berkeley, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Miami, Ohio State, Purdue, Texas A&M, UNC-Chapel Hill and Virginia. Forty-nine institutions in several categories were selected this year.
“The phenomenal success of the Students First Campaign has almost brought us to our goal,” said Dr. Patricia W. Stewart, vice chancellor for university advancement. “Our campaign leadership, volunteers and staff have carried the campaign’s vision to thousands of friends of this university, and they have responded wonderfully. For our campaign to receive national recognition two years running is testimony to the fine work of a dedicated team. This award is for them and all they’ve done for UNCG.”
Totals in the campaign’s major initiatives through June were: student support, $51.93 million toward a goal of $66.26 million; attracting and retaining excellent faculty, $11.3 million on a $10.14 million goal; building an exceptional learning environment, $27.75 million, against a $16.1 million goal; research and service support, $4.15 million with a $7.5 million goal; and other unrestricted gifts, $3.18 million.
To date, the campaign has created 14 new professorships, 168 new undergraduate scholarships, 38 new graduate scholarships and 145 program endowments and student awards programs.
SFC leaders say the campaign will stay the course and continue through June 2009. With its theme, “The Impact of One. The Power of Many,” the campaign passed an initial goal of $78 million a year ago, prompting the leadership to raise the bar to $100 million.
In addition to Chancellor Patricia A. Sullivan and Stewart, the campaign is led by co-chairs Linda Arnold Carlisle and Norman and Sylvia Samet, all of Greensboro.
Selection of winners for the CASE award was based on evaluation of three years of fundraising data. Judges looked for significant program growth and institutions were evaluated within their peer groups. UNCG was grouped among public research/doctoral granting institutions.
Factors included the pattern of growth in total support, evaluation of what contributed to the total support figure, overall breadth and growth patterns in program areas, pattern of donor growth among alumnae and other individual donors, impact of the 12 largest gifts on total support, total support from the alumni base and institution type.
