MSU closes in on $125M fundraising goal

Missouri State University has announced the largest and most ambitious fundraising goal in its history: $125 million.

While the announcement comes at an economically challenging time, fundraising efforts have actually been proceeding quietly since late 2005. As of the Aug. 28 announcement of its comprehensive campaign goal, MSU already had raised $93.9 million, including 551 gifts of $10,000 or more.

As of Sept. 29, that amount had grown to $96.4 million, said Brent Dunn, vice president for university advancement and executive director of the Missouri State Foundation.

Our Promise: The Campaign for Missouri State University is only the second comprehensive campaign in MSU history. The first, the Imagine the Possibilities Campaign of 2000-2005, exceeded its goal of $50 million, said Mike Harders, Missouri State executive director of development.

"We wanted to set a goal that was aggressive yet attainable. It's definitely a stretch goal," he added, but "we are confident we can reach it."

Going from a $50 million to a $125 million campaign was a big jump, particularly as the economy began to falter after fundraising began, Dunn said.

"But at the end of this campaign, you'll see an impact on the campus," he added.

Individual goals for the campaign target capital projects, program enhancements, student scholarships, faculty endowments and investment in the West Plains campus.

The $48.5 million goal for capital projects will ensure that MSU has the best facilities available for teaching and research, Harders said.

Projects slated to receive money from the campaign include the Darr Agricultural Center expansion, construction of a new student recreation center and development of the IDEA Commons, an urban research park in downtown Springfield that aims to bring together innovation, design, entrepreneurship and art.

The $40 million goal for program enhancement and community engagement will support everything from cultural and arts programs at Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts to university athletics, the Pride Band, research initiatives at Jordan Valley Innovation Center and IDEA Commons, he said.

The $20 million goal for student scholarships is designed to make education more affordable and to encourage students of particular academic merit to attend MSU, Harders said.

Enhanced faculty opportunities would include the creation of endowed professorships and chairs, and campaign funds also would provide funding for faculty research.

Today, Missouri; tomorrow, the world

Fundraising started off slow for fiscal 2010, which began July 1, Dunn said.

"The economy definitely has had an impact on us," he said. "We have to visit more people, get the word out more about Missouri State and we have to grow our area (beyond) southwest Missouri."

Missouri State is taking a more aggressive fundraising stance, targeting significant MSU alumni populations in Missouri's largest cities, for example.

"One of the goals out of this campaign is for our university to spend more time in Kansas City and St. Louis - and throughout the country," Dunn said.In fact, national fundraising efforts have been ramped up in the last two years, Dunn said. "That's another part of the campaign; really to reach out from California to Florida and in between to get the message out about Missouri State and its impact, not only in Missouri, but in the United States and the world."

To that end, MSU will have alumni events in Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix, Chicago and Washington, D.C., Dunn said.

But efforts aren't limited to the U.S.

"We have a campus in China and we're graduating a lot of students who stay in China," he said, noting that Missouri State also has students from 80 countries worldwide who often return to their home countries after earning their degrees.

"So we are exploring ways of communicating and ways of keeping them involved with the university," Dunn said.

Undaunted by the economy

While the recession does present challenges, last year was Missouri State's best fundraising year to date, with $15 million added to the school's coffers, according to Thomas Strong, national co-chairman of the Our Promise campaign and an attorney with Springfield-based Strong, Garner & Bauer PC.

Fundraising efforts at other Springfield universities also are going well.

Drury University announced a $1 million pledge from former Drury Vice President Lewis "Johnny" Johnson and family on Sept. 21, and had a record fundraising year last year between the school's annual fund and pledges and gifts for the O'Reilly Family Event Center now under construction, said Drury President Todd Parnell.

"It's a difficult environment for everybody, but we've been blessed with very generous and passionate alums and donors, and they seem to step up when we need it most," Parnell said.

The private university doesn't publicize its fundraising totals.

"Our unrestricted fund was up 20 percent last year and total giving was up 24 percent," said Krystal Compas, vice president for alumni and development.

Evangel University has just completed a massive capital campaign that funded nine new buildings in 12 years. The last project, the $11.5 million Ralph M. Riggs Administration Building, was finished in March.

"We are now transitioning from a capital campaign ... to an annual fund type of campaign, where the money is being raised for scholarships, maintenance and smaller projects like that," said Paul Logsdon, Evangel director of public relations and publications.[[In-content Ad]]