Record number of donors give $145 million to U in FY 2004

What: U of M Foundation reports giving results for FY 2004
Contact: Martha Douglas, University of Minnesota Foundation, (612) 626-9712
David Ruth, University News Service, (612) 626-1720

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (9/16/2004) -- A record number of donors made gifts and pledges totaling $145 million to the University of Minnesota during fiscal year 2004. This included gifts from 81,979 donors, the largest number of individual donors in the university’s history. Most of the new donors are the result of a 6 percent increase in the number of alumni making gifts. The 42,379 alumni who pledged account for 52 percent of all donors to the university.

“We have focused on engaging more of our alumni in recent years, and they have responded generously and enthusiastically,” said Gerald Fischer, president and chief executive officer of the University of Minnesota Foundation, which tracks and reports gifts to all U of M campuses, colleges and departments, including gifts made through other university foundations.

The number of faculty and staff making gifts also increased in the last year. More than 5,000 made gifts, an increase of 9 percent. The increase came in a year when legislative budget cuts produced a salary freeze at the university.

The year marked the first full year of fund raising at the university since the close of Campaign Minnesota, the hugely successful seven-year effort that raised $1.66 billion for the U. Fischer called 2004 “a year of transition from fund raising during the campaign, when many donors made significant gifts in the form of bequest commitments and other deferred gifts.” Nevertheless, gift production in 2004 was the fifth highest in the foundation’s 42-year history and about double the level of new gift commitments in the years prior to Campaign Minnesota.

The university is now focused on raising funds for scholarships. Last week, university President Robert Bruininks announced to the Board of Regents that October has been designated Scholarship Month at the university, as part of the fund-raising drive.

“I’ve made raising funds for scholarships a top priority,” said Bruininks. “I want to ensure that every student with the desire and ability to succeed at the U has the opportunity to do so.”

The University of Minnesota Foundation, founded in 1962, is an independent, non-profit organization that builds greatness at the University of Minnesota by raising and managing gifts from alumni and friends. In fiscal 2004 it had excellent investment gains of 17.2 percent, helping to boost the foundation’s endowment by more than $100 million, to $887 million.

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