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Contacts:
Tom Mitchell, ISU Foundation, (515) 294-4607
Steve Sullivan, News Service, (515) 294-3720
IOWA STATE’S CAMPAIGN DESTINY CONCLUDES IN EXCESS OF $458 MILLION
AMES, Iowa – Campaign Destiny: To Become the Best, the largest fund-raising initiative in Iowa State University history, reached an unprecedented $458.6 million during its five-year duration. The campaign ended on June 30.
Outright and deferred gifts to the ISU Foundation’s comprehensive campaign exceeded the original $300 million goal by more than 150 percent. The original goal was extended to $425 million in 1998. The extended goal was surpassed at the end of 1999.
"The efforts of many individuals made Campaign Destiny an absolutely extraordinary success, and the biggest beneficiaries of this success are Iowa State’s students," said ISU President Martin Jischke. "The millions raised for scholarships increases the opportunities for students to pursue college degrees, while money for new buildings, programs and professorships greatly enhances the quality of undergraduate and graduate education at Iowa State."
One of the largest areas of donors’ gifts was for scholarships. Donors contributed almost $104 million to create 614 new undergraduate and graduate scholarship programs, including the Hixson Opportunity Awards and Presidential Scholarships for National Merit and Achievement students.
"By increasing financial aid to students through scholarships, fellowships, internships and cooperative experiences, Campaign Destiny has opened up opportunities for students in Iowa, as well as throughout the nation," said ISU Foundation President Tom Mitchell. "For example, the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication has more than tripled the dollars it awards in scholarships from $30,000 to $100,000 annually."
Buildings and equipment was another significant area for donors' gifts. More than 50 building projects will vastly improve Iowa State’s teaching, learning and outreach environments, Mitchell said.
"The campaign has financed building projects throughout the campus, from the development of Reiman Gardens to the enhancement and expansion of Jack Trice Stadium," he said. "Gifts have helped construct the Engineering Teaching and Research Complex for the College of Engineering, the Palmer Human Development and Family Studies Building for the College of Family and Consumer Sciences and Kocimski Auditorium for the College of Design."
Still ahead are the Gerdin Business Building, Honors Building, 4-H/Extension Youth Building and the Carver Co-Laboratory for the Plant Sciences Institute, he added.
In addition to scholarships, buildings and equipment, Campaign Destiny gifts have provided resources to develop new curricula for undergraduate and graduate programs through initiatives such as the Center for Entrepreneurship, the Plant Sciences Institute, and ISU's first named school, the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication. Donors’ outright and deferred gifts also have funded 22 new faculty professorships and chairs.
Eight of the top 10 largest gifts ever received by Iowa State occurred during Campaign Destiny.
Four of the top 10 largest gifts to any institution of higher education in the state of Iowa were given to Iowa State during the campaign. An $80 million anonymous gift received in 1999 was not only the largest gift to any Iowa public institution but also the largest to any U.S. college of agriculture.
Campaign gifts help triple the ISU Foundation's assets from $140 million in 1995 to $500 million in 2000. In that five-year timeframe, the endowment also increased from $84 million in 1995 to $350 million in 2000.
Each year during the campaign, records also were set for the number of donors, reaching a new high of 54,083 in FY 2000.
"Campaign Destiny has been such an overwhelming success because the right ingredients came together at the right moment: a vision and strategic plan to achieve it, involved campus partners, a strong national economy, and committed alumni and friends," Mitchell said.
"Fund-raising totals such as these have moved Iowa State into the top quartile in the Big 12 development rankings, up from eighth only two years ago," he added. "More importantly, Campaign Destiny’s success means more resources are helping Iowa State advance its aspiration to become the best land-grant institution in the nation. Campaign Destiny’s impact has reached every college and many non-academic areas of the university."
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