Totals Show Significant Increase in UMaine Fundraising; Year-End Total Exceeds $13.5 Million
Contact: Media contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571
ORONO — Despite a weak national economy and uncertainty regarding national security, private giving to the University of Maine increased significantly during the past year, according to Jeffery N. Mills, UMaine’s vice president for advancement and president of the University of Maine Alumni Association. UMaine’s Office of Development and other affiliated fundraising organizations reported a combined 13 percent increase in Fiscal Year 2003 as compared to the previous year. The Office of Development reported a 58 percent increase.
“We are particularly pleased with the support of donors who are not UMaine alumni,” Mills says. “Gifts from those people increased by over 300 percent. That is a clear indication that the university’s value, under the leadership of President (Peter) Hoff, is being recognized and appreciated by a broad range of people, both in Maine and beyond.”
UMaine raised a total of $13,737,801 from private gifts in FY03; the Office of Development raised $7,604,916 of that total.
An analysis of the annual data shows dramatic increases in support of several areas. Donations to support the arts doubled, from $417,00 to $834,000. Gifts to Fogler Library and cultural affairs activities went from $45,000 to $334, 893. Donations to academic affairs units increased by over $200,000.
“As a result of this increased support, badly needed projects are getting done,” says Scott Anchors, director of Advancement/Development. “The most visible is the Fogler Library Terrace Project.”
After decades of deterioration, the front steps to the library are being replaced by granite from Crotch Island, off the coast of Stonington. The completion of the project is expected later this fall. The generous gifts of donors and local businesses are making this million-dollar project possible.
“Several Maine-based businesses have recognized the value of this project, which will result in a wonderful new front entrance at the library, certainly one of UMaine’s landmark buildings,” Anchors says. “Those businesses have donated their services and their products, allowing us to move forward with the work on this important project.”
Private funds have also been critical in the completion of high-profile projects like the relocation of the University of Maine Museum of Art to downtown Bangor, an effort that has helped to showcase art more broadly to the people of central and eastern Maine.
“This project is an excellent example of a way in which UMaine can extend its resources to benefit people in the community well beyond the borders of campus,” Mills says.
Philanthropic donations increased in each of the four categories university fundraisers have developed: alumni, corporate, foundation and individual. Anchors attributes a 21 percent increase in combined corporate and foundation support to improved collaboration and communication with the university units that benefit from such support.
“The future looks promising in terms of support from friends and alums,” Mills says. “UMaine is headed in a positive direction. Our constituents recognize that and they are helping us meet our needs and move ahead.”