UCCS-based CU Foundation fundraisers celebrate record year

Led by a $5.5 million anonymous gift to support student scholarships, CU Foundation fundraisers based at UCCS celebrated a record fund raising year in July.
Gifts to UCCS through the CU Foundation for this year totaled $9.67 million, an 83 percent increase from last year’s $5.1 million according to Brian Winkelbauer, the new vice president of the CU Foundation.

“This is a true testament to the faculty and staff at UCCS for being aware of fund raising opportunities and for conducting the kind of important programming that people want to support.”

A $5.5 million anonymous gift drew headlines, including a segment this week on the Today Show. See the video at http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/32564890#32564890.

But Winkelbauer was quick to say that while appreciative of the large, secret gift that the support of all donors is necessary.

“While we are most grateful for the anonymous gift, all of our donors make a difference in the lives of students,” Winkelbauer said. “These gifts could not have come at a better time. As the economy suffered, students had greater financial need. Our donors truly invest in the future.”

Overall, more than 50,000 donors made contributions to CU people, places, and programs during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, more than in any other year in CU’s 133-year history.

Gifts for the 2008-09 year totaled $134.5 million: $101.3 million given through the CU Foundation and $33.2 million given directly to the university, according to preliminary unaudited numbers. It ranked as the second-best year in CU history for dollars raised.

“Our donors provide essential support that helps CU provide outstanding education, research, and services to the citizens and communities of Colorado and beyond,” said CU President Bruce D. Benson. “Private support will be increasingly essential in the coming years as we deal with fiscal challenges in other revenue streams, and aim not merely to survive but to excel.”

Benson stressed that while fundraising dollars add value to CU, donors frequently target gifts toward specific areas of interest. Support for general operating expenses such as salaries, utilities and technology remains a great need.

The total dollar amount of gifts raised by the CU Foundation was down 18 percent from the record-breaking 2007-08 fiscal year when CU raised more than $162.5 million, reflecting the pervasive economic difficulties that accelerated early last fall, and have affected university support everywhere.

The decline in dollars raised is most evident in the sharp drop in gifts at the highest ($10 million+) level, as steep equity-market declines put unprecedented pressure on large-gift sources. While 2008 saw three donors give more than $10 million each, no such gifts were received in 2009. Excluding such donations, dollars raised for CU in 2008-09 exceed last year’s total by more than 14 percent.

And donor activity was up, especially among alumni. This year’s total of 25,167 alumni donors represents year-over-year increases for all four CU campuses, and is CU’s greatest alumni-donor total ever by a margin of 9.8 percent.

As of June 30, the value of the CU endowment was $590.1 million, down 18 percent from 2008. By comparison the S&P 500 declined 26.2 percent during the same period. The CU Foundation’s investment-management performance (-17.7 percent for the year) surpassed the broad equity markets as well as foundation-specific benchmarks for the fifth consecutive year. A $100 investment in CU’s endowment on Sept. 30, 2004, would be worth $128 today, compared with $89 if invested in the S&P 500.