Annual University Campaign ahead by $60,000

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The Annual University Campaign is ahead of schedule.

As of Tuesday, the Annual University Campaign has raised $533,000, but gifts are still being processed until Dec. 18. The goal this year is $770,000.

“I am confident we will reach our dollar goal due to the fact we are $60,000 ahead of where we were the same time last year,” said Director of Annual Giving Bryan Griffin. “We are also on track to hit 1,000 donors.”

He said the last week of the campaign, being this week, is very important to reaching the goal. As of Nov. 30, 704 donors had contributed. The actual totals will not be known until around Jan. 1.

Griffin believes this increase is caused by a number of factors.

“I think that the economy is better — also, we’ve been publicizing a lot more,” he said. “By letting people know what the campaign is about, they’re getting used to it.”

People can designate wherever they want their money to go toward. Any valid account on campus, including departments, scholarships and endowments are available for gifts.

“People are basically giving back to the university in some way, which is great,” Griffin said.

Art of donating

Tom Masterson, associate dean for the College of Health Professions, is one of the co-chairs of the campaign and said there are many ways for the money to help CMU maintain its educational experience.

It may take several years for a scholarship to earn the base funding needed to be distributed, Masterson said.

“So this campaign is a great way to help accumulate that funding so we can pay out the award quicker,” he said.

This is the fifth year the university will match $1 for every $2 given, he said, causing more people to donate because they know their dollar goes even further.

There are two main ways to give a donation — online through the CMU Portal or by mailing in a form. Employees can log on and click “give to university campaign” and fill out the information, which includes choosing a department to give to. Twice a year, the department mails out forms to fill out.

“Most people are giving online now, which is great,” Griffin said.

The main purpose for the campaign is to help maintain CMU’s standard of excellence, Masterson said.

“What’s so great about this campaign is that we can designate which programs, scholarships and services will receive our contribution,” he said.