Mayo Clinic's philanthropy campaign raises $1.35 billion

Minnesota's Mayo Clinic on Tuesday reported collecting $1.35-billion in its first sustained philanthropy campaign for operating costs. The famed medical center started the campaign in 2005 with a goal of raising $1.25-billion in seven years. While Mayo had previously sought donations from benefactors and former patients for new buildings, the current campaign was its first aimed at raising money for care, research, and education programs.

Full text article by Chen May Yee is available via Star Tribune, 1/26/10.

Departing UVa President Will Help Raise Money for Community-College Students

When John T. Casteen III retires in August after 20 years as president of the University of Virginia, his days of college fund raising will not be over. Mr. Casteen, who helped the University of Virginia raise more than $2-billion in its current campaign, has agreed to help raise money for the state's community colleges.

Full text article by Kathryn Masterson is available via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 12/17/09.

Charitable Giving for U.S. Health Care Rises a Tepid $241 Million in 2008, While Canadian Charitable Giving Plunges 13 Percent, Association for Health

Charitable donations to benefit U.S. health care grew by $241-million, to $8.6-billion, in 2008, a 2.9 percent growth. In Canada health-care giving plummeted by nearly 13 percent, to just under $1.1-billion. The slight bump in U.S. medical giving resulted from most nonprofit hospitals and health-care systems closing their books before the recession hit with full force in the final quarter of 2008, the association reported. Institutions that closed at end of the calendar year reported a 0.2 percent fund-raising dip.

Full-text post by Kathy Renzetti is available via the New York Post, 10/26/09.

Goldman Bonus Stigma May Overshadow Charitable Effort

Goldman Sachs, reportedly exploring ways to quell a public backlash over expected record year-end bonuses for its executives, is working with the Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit consulting effort, on a giving plan that could exceed $1-billion. After accepting, and repaying, billions of dollars in government funds as part of the federal bank bailout, Goldman Sachs earned record second-quarter profits and has already set aside $16.7-billion for compensation this year, putting it in a public-relations bind that has fueled Wall Street speculation of major charitable activity.

Full-text post by Catherine Rampell is available via Bloomberg, 10/15/09.

Twitter fundraising at $1 billion valuation

Fast-growing microblogging service Twitter Inc. is raising venture capital at a valuation of $1 billion. The popular San Francisco company said on its official blog that the round that raised $35 million earlier this year was led by Menlo Park firms Benchmark Capital and Institutional Venture Partners.

Full-text post by Patrick Hoge is available via The San Francisco Business Times, 9/16/09.

Donations to cancer institute hit $1b

Accompanied by at least one other cancer center has embarked on a similar campaign, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute fund-raising campaign has hit the $1 billion mark a year earlier than expected. Despite the economy’s ragged times, the campaign is setting what is believed to be a record for New England health care institutions.

Full-text post by Stephen Smith is available via The Boston Globe, 9/9/09.

Despite Economy, U of Virginia's $3 Billion Fundraising Campaign on Track

Despite the awful economy and a sharp drop in donations, the University of Virginia's five-year campaign to raise $3 billion remains on track, according to documents and interviews with senior fundraising officials.

Full-text article by Brian McNeill is available via WSLS.com, 6.16.09.

A Rust Belt Oasis, the University of Michigan Is Spending Billions to Grow

An army of ironworkers, masons, carpenters and laborers are swarming the campus of the University of Michigan these days, as the university undertakes a construction campaign budgeted at $2.5 billion, ranking it among the largest university building programs in the United States.

Full-text article by Keith Schneider is available via the New York Times, 12.30.08.

Carnegie Mellon Announces $1 Billion Campaign

For more than a century, Carnegie Mellon University has been addressing the world's urgent needs through education and research. This past weekend, with more than $550 million raised, the university announced the public phase of a $1 billion campaign that focuses on the comprehensive needs of the university.

Full-text press release is available via MarketWatch, 10.28.08.

University of Utah Seeks to Raise $1 Billion in Eight Years

While the economy is causing donors to give more cautiously, the numbers suggest that donors still believe in giving to institutions of higher education. To continue the growth of giving to higher education, university fundraising campaigns are becoming more professional and sophisicated, fine-tuning their approach, i.e. the University of Utah is shifting their campaign focus to alumni.

Full text article by Brian Maffly is available via The Salt Lake Tribune, 9.29.08.

UC Berkeley - $3 Billion Campaign

The University of California, Berkeley, today (Friday, Sept. 19) announced a landmark fundraising campaign to raise $3 billion to secure for future generations its status as the nation's preeminent public teaching and research university.

Nearly $1.3 billion of the $3 billion already has been raised in gifts and pledges since the "quiet phase" of The Campaign for Berkeley began on July 1, 2005. The campaign will end on June 30, 2013.

Full-text press release by Jose Rodriguez is available via UC Berkeley, 9.19.08.

Updates on Billion Dollar Higher Education Campaigns

The 28 American universities that are seeking to raise at least $1-billion collected a total of $623.5-million in gifts and pledges during the last month for which they had data available.

The campaign with the largest gain in the last month was Stanford University, with $127-million.

Full-text article by Marisa Lopez-Rivera is available via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 3.6.08. [Subscription required.]

The University of Texas Seeks to Raise $2 Billion Plus

The University of Texas is joining the list of universities in the midst of multibillion-dollar fund drives. According to Jim Kunetka, UT's associate vice president for development, the goal will be between $2 and $4 billion.

Full-text article by Ralph K.M. Haurwitz is available via The Austin American-Statesman, 11.30.07.

Princeton Launches $1.5 Billion Campaign

Princeton University's $1.5 billion campaign,"Aspire: A Plan for Princeton," will focus on a set of priorities that includes strengthening the core Princeton experience, providing unrestricted funds through the Annual Giving program, and raising funds to enhance the University's capacities in the critical areas of engineering and the environment, the creative and performing arts, neuroscience, and national and global citizenship.

Full-text article by Cass Cliatt via News@Princeton, 11.12.07.

Updates on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 26 Universities

The Chronicle of Higher Education outlines 26 American universities in billion dollar capital campaigns.

Article by Jason M. Breslow via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 10.3.07. [Subscription required.]

University of Chicago Joins Reaches $2 Billion Campaign Goal

A $25-million donation from the Neubauer Family Foundation has put the University of Chicago over its $2-billion fund-raising campaign goal, university officials announced.

The university will continue the campaign, which began in 2002, until the scheduled completion date of June 2008.