https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/07/05/how-fsu-exceeded-their-1-billion-campaign-goal/740765002/
Among the major donations are the $100-million gift from Jan Moran and the Jim Moran Foundation, Brian and Kathryn Ballard’s donation of the downtown building to house the new school, DeVoe Moore’s nearly $25 million contributions for new academic programs, and Albert and Judith Dunlap's $5 million pledge toward the Champion’s Club.
That most recent donation brings the couple’s total FSU contributions to $20 million, which gets their names on the Champions Club at Doak Campbell Stadium.
The Raise the Torch campaign – which had an announced closing date of June 30th – has surpassed its $1 billion goal.
By how much and when it was surpassed is a closely guarded secret – for now.
The total will be announced on Sept. 21 when FSU celebrates with an invitation-only bash at Ruby Diamond Concert Hall for the campaign’s largest donors.
It was a challenge to then President Eric Barron, who helped lay the groundwork by making sure development officers were on board at each college.
“He wanted to make sure there was at least one development officer in each college,” Jennings said. “Some have more because they have more donors.”
By July 2010, the campaign was in its “leadership phase” when potential donors in the “half-million-dollar and above” level were sought.
Between July 2010 to October 2014, the foundation had received gifts and pledges totaling $565 million.
When the university made it public in October 2016, it had $568 million in cash, pledges, bequeaths, and gifts-in-kind such as art, Jennings said.
In 2010 and afterward, the university was raising $80 million to $90-million a year. In the last few years, that has jumped to $120 million to $125 million annually, Jennings said.
Since 2010, the FSU Foundation has processed 570,000 gifts, ranging from $5 to $100 million, Jennings said.
That includes 189 gifts of $1 million.
The top four areas designated for giving are:
- Athletics, $300 million
- College of Business, $181 million
- The Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship, $100 million
- The Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, $95 million
In 2000, the Florida Legislature granted FSU administrative control over the museum’s operations.
“That means of all the colleges and units on campus, these three areas received the largest dollar amounts,” Jennings said, adding the $100-million Moran gift represent the largest gift ever to an institution in the State University System.
The colleges of arts and science, law and medicine also rank high in money raised.
Examples of how donor money has been spent includes:
- The College of Law: 30 new scholarship funds; three named professorships
- Marching Chiefs: The purchase of all new brass instruments and the purchase of new Sousaphones
- School of Nursing: A simulation lab for training
Over the eight years, $2.5 million has been earmarked for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), with $2 million coming from the Bernard Osher Foundation and $500,000 from local OLLI members.
In turn, the FSU Foundation has increased its annual giving to the university from about $28 million in 2010 to $42 million in 2017.
That money goes toward academic programs, scholarships, professorships and other needs.
Seminole Boosters, Inc. forwards about $20 million each year to athletics.
“I think we have improved in the amount of gifts we receive every year,” Jennings said. “I think we’re headed in the right direction.”
Contact senior writer Byron Dobson at bdobson@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @byrondobson.
Top six fundraising years in FSU history:
FY 16 $225 million
FY 08 $129 million
FY 17 $128 million
FY 18 $107 million (through May)*
FY 15 $115 million
FY 14 $108 million
Exceeding the target is something to be proud of. I don't expect any single thing from this campaign to be all that game-changing for FSU, but perhaps in its totality it will help position FSU forward these next few years.
ReplyDeleteAnd while I know many of these contributions do not go directly into the endowment, it'd certainly be nice if that starts seeing strong year over year returns. It's been a little sporadic in recent years, and that obviously hasn't done us any good. (I believe this most recent year or two was pretty good, though, but I'd have to look it up to make sure that's correct).