     
|
|
|
University of Iowa's $1 billion campaign surpasses goal by $58 million Final year of seven-year effort sets new giving records
Posted February 6, 2006
IOWA CITY -- When the books closed on Dec. 31, 2005, on the University of Iowa's Good. Better. Best. Iowa campaign, the seven-year fund-raising effort had surpassed its $1 billion goal by more than $58 million, an achievement that UI and UI Foundation officials say far exceeded their expectations.
"In early 2004, when we raised the campaign goal from $850 million to $1 billion (news release), we were guardedly optimistic about our success," recalled UI President David J. Skorton. "But we knew we'd have to work very hard and that conditions would have to be just right for us to meet our expanded goal. "The fact that we went well past $1 billion in these past seven years, in spite of all that's happened in the nation and around the globe, is a tribute to the loyalty and generosity of our alumni and friends, to the leadership of our campaign co-chairs Mary Louise Petersen and Marvin Pomerantz and to the professionalism of the UI Foundation staff," he said. UI Foundation interim president Charles M. Kierscht echoed Skorton's comments.
"This campaign could not have succeeded without the strengths of the university itself," Kierscht said. "Givers prefer to support high-quality institutions that make a difference, and that's just what the UI has been doing throughout its history. "The success of this campaign will help ensure that the UI traditions of excellence and innovation can now extend well into the future, making a difference for generations of Iowa students, faculty, staff and the communities they serve." Within the overall $1 billion goal, Good. Better. Best. Iowa aimed to raise funds in six major categories encompassing campus-wide needs. Those categories and their end-of-campaign totals were:
"I believe that as citizens and as alumni, we have an obligation to invest in our state's educational infrastructure," said campaign co-chair Marvin Pomerantz of Des Moines. "The private support generated by this campaign, and the support that is sure to follow in the future, will serve as a highly effective multiplier for annual legislative appropriations, creating a powerful funding partnership that can move the UI into the ranks of the nation's truly elite public institutions. Future generations of Iowans deserve no less." Campaign co-chair Mary Louise Petersen of Harlan, Iowa, said she was especially pleased with the levels of support generated for students and faculty. "The university always has stressed the need to balance access and excellence," Petersen said.
"The fact that this campaign has created 535 new student scholarships along with 155 new named faculty positions means that not only will increasing numbers of talented students be able to attend the UI, but when they arrive, they'll find exceptionally well-qualified faculty members in their classrooms and labs." The University of Iowa is one of fewer than 30 public universities nationwide to have launched or completed billion-dollar campaigns in recent years. Of that group, the UI is one of the smallest institutions (based on undergraduate enrollment) to have attempted a campaign of this size, which is the largest ever mounted in the state of Iowa. Of the $1.058 billion raised during Good. Better. Best. Iowa (1999-2005), 71 percent or approximately $750 million is in the form of outright gifts or pledges to be paid in the near term (more statistics). Foundation officials explained that having less than one-third of campaign commitments in the form of deferred (future) gifts, such as bequests, is highly desirable, meaning that more of the campaign's proceeds can be applied immediately to the university's current needs and priorities. Final year of campaign sets new records The campaign's strong finish was reflected in the UI's fund-raising results for calendar year 2005. Total combined university and foundation productivity, which includes outright gifts and deferred giving (such as wills, trusts and pledges to be paid in future years) reached a record $227.3 million, nearly 30 percent above the 2004 total of $177.9 million. More details about 2005 calendar-year fund-raising performance are found on the foundation's web site at www.uiowafoundation.org/about/statistics. Other campaign accomplishments include:
For more campaign highlights, visit this link on the UI Foundation web site: www.GoodBetterBestIowa.org. Alumni, contributors and the public at large will be invited to celebrate one of the campaign's most visible success stories -- the restoration of the Old Capitol Museum -- during a public re-dedication ceremony on Saturday, May 6, at 9:30 a.m., on the UI Pentacrest. The UI acknowledges the UI Foundation as the preferred channel for private contributions that benefit all areas of the university. For more information about the foundation, visit its web site at www.uiowafoundation.org. Contact Information
Charles M. Kierscht Additional information about supporting UI colleges and programs also is available on this site. |
