Alumni and donors gave more than $160 million to Colorado State University in the 2018-19 fiscal year, marking the fourth-largest fundraising total in CSU’s history as the university continued to soar past the $1 billion milestone in its State Your Purpose campaign.

CSU reached its initial $1 billion goal in September – 651 days before the campaign officially ends on July 1, 2020. In November, a second phase – Beyond a Billion – was launched, with a goal of building upon the momentum generated by record support throughout the campaign.

“Our donors give from the heart, and their gifts have a profound impact on what our students, faculty and staff are able to do at Colorado State University,” said Kim Tobin, vice president for university advancement. “It is an honor to get to know our donors, hear their stories and help them give back in a way that is most meaningful to them.

“Many thanks to CSU’s alumni and friends who continue to support our students and programs in purposeful ways.”

Tobin announced that more than 39,000 donors contributed $162,937,329 million during the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2019. With one year remaining in the State Your Purpose campaign, CSU already is experiencing a transformative impact in its quest to increase student scholarships, attract and retain top faculty and researchers and develop world-class facilities to support their collective work in solving global challenges.

Campus transformation continues

Three such buildings – the Translational Medicine Institute in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, the JBS Global Innovation Center in the College of Agricultural Sciences, and the Nancy Richardson Design Center in the College of Health and Human Sciences – opened during the fiscal year, providing new research and educational opportunities for students and faculty.

Giving to CSU in 2018-19 included several additional highlights:

• The College of Agricultural Sciences received gifts totaling $25,460,099 – a record for the college.
• Enrollment, Academic and Student Affairs also experienced a record year, receiving more than $11.8 million in donations to support student scholarships and programs.
• The Department of Athletics secured a $2 million planned gift that endows the head coach’s position in women’s swimming – the first endowed head coaching position in the department’s history.
• A Fort Collins Catholic priest, Fr. Don Willette, made a donation establishing a faculty position for a professor of theology in the College of Liberal Arts – the fourth endowed faculty position for the college.
• University Libraries recorded more than $1 million in gifts – the second-highest fundraising total in its history.
• The College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences continued to set the pace, exceeding than $50 million in gifts for the third time.

Tony Frank’s impact on fundraising

The end-of-fiscal-year announcement also illustrates the remarkable impact of Tony Frank on CSU’s fundraising during his 11-year tenure as university president. Frank, who officially stepped down as president June 30 to become full-time chancellor of the CSU System, has seen the university surpass fundraising goals in the first two comprehensive campaigns in its history – the $500 million Campaign for Colorado State University, which ended in 2012, and the State Your Purpose campaign. In all, CSU has raised more than $1.4 billion during Frank’s tenure.

“There is so much I could say about Tony Frank,” said Nancy Richardson, a passionate alumna donor for whom the Nancy Richardson Design Center is named. “As a graduate, it has given me such pride to learn from someone who leads by example, who puts the future of CSU’s students in the number one position.

“Thanks to his leadership, our beautiful campus has been transformed and much of that has been due to his ability to connect the dots for people and to inspire us to invest in the future of our state’s land-grant university.”

New CSU President Joyce McConnell, who succeeded Tony Frank on July 1, previously served as provost at West Virginia University, where she played a key role in helping the institution exceed fundraising goals in their first $1 billion campaign. She’s excited to play an active part in sustaining CSU through fundraising.

“I like the magic that happens when you tell someone what you need—or in our case what our students, faculty and staff need—and they reach out to meet those needs,” McConnell said. “That generosity generates such energy and inspires a sense of community.  There’s a feeling of, ‘Oh my gosh – we’re all in this together, and we can make this happen.’

“We can do tremendous things here, and I’m truly thankful for everyone who has supported CSU.”

Tobin said CSU will continue to engage with alumni and donors through the Beyond a Billion phase of the campaign to provide even more student and faculty support as CSU commemorates its 150^th birthday in 2020.

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