CU surpasses $1.5 billion Creating Futures campaign milestone

​DENVER - University of Colorado President Bruce Benson today announced the completion of CU’s fourth-ever fundraising campaign, Creating Futures, with more than $1.521 billion in private support raised to support people, places and programs on CU’s four campuses.

Propelling CU to campaign success were more than 158,000 donors who made more than 403,000 gifts to CU from the official July 1, 2006 start of Creating Futures through Sept. 30, 2013, when campaign counting concluded. The Creating Futures campaign generated more support for CU than any other effort in the university’s 137-year history.

“Donors have made CU a better place for students, faculty, alumni and friends,” said Bruce Benson (’64), who with his wife, Marcy, has served as chair of the campaign. “Today, we celebrate the success of the Creating Futures campaign and say ‘thank you’ to all the donors who have fueled that success.”

Also during the Creating Futures campaign period, more than $240 million was given toward endowments that support CU’s four campuses with perpetual funding streams for generations to come. As of Sept. 30, CU held $937.4 million in endowments—a 57 percent increase since the start of the campaign.

CU Anschutz Medical Campus benefited from more than $772.4 million in private support during the campaign, from 26,617 donors. The effort was bolstered by outstanding volunteer leadership from campus campaign chairs Nancy (’87) and Carl (“Spike”) Eklund (’71). 

“Throughout Creating Futures, it has been an honor to work with my volunteer peers who have worked to serve this great university and inspire donor support,” said Carl Eklund, also chair of the CU Foundation board of directors. “The University of Colorado is an integral contributor to the health and welfare of citizens throughout and beyond this state. Today, we celebrate its fundamental role as a core Colorado institution.”

CU Anschutz transformative donor support includes:

• More than $57 million in gifts since 2006 (and more than $120 million lifetime) from the Anschutz Foundation—the campaign’s largest donor—that fueled rapid growth of the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.
• More than $14 million in gifts from the Gates Frontiers Fund to establish the Charles C. Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine, enabling CU Anschutz to bring aboard world-class faculty expertise in stem cell research.
• The establishment of the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome thanks to commitments from Anna and John J. Sie, whose total CU-wide giving during Creating Futures exceeds $17 million.
• The opening of a new home for the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, thanks to $11 million from the ALSAM Foundation in 2008 and significant subsequent program support.

CU Denver benefited from more than $84.2 million in private support during the campaign, from 13,275 donors. The effort was bolstered by outstanding volunteer leadership from campus campaign chairs Laura (’94) and Dave (’82) Baker.

CU Denver transformative donor support includes:

• The January 2012 opening of the CU Denver Business School and major recent expansion in Business School programs, fueled by multimillion-dollar gifts from Jake Jabs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Pinnacol Assurance, CoBank and EnCana.
• A partnership born in 2008 between a Saudi Arabian women’s college and the College of Architecture and Planning thanks to the vision and generosity of donor and CU architecture alumnus Zuhair Fayez (’71). 
• Expanded research in the realm of domestic violence thanks to $750,000 from the Seedworks Foundation to the CU Denver Center on Domestic Violence in 2010.
• A significant future boost for graduate research support at the School of Public Affairs, thanks to a $1.25 million estate gift commitment by faculty emeriti Linda and Peter DeLeon.

The strong private support seen during Creating Futures, though it coincided with the worst economic downturn in 75 years, represents a formidable vote of confidence by alumni, friends, corporations, and foundations toward the University of Colorado.

But with continuing threats to state funding for the university and escalating needs in areas ranging from financial aid to physical infrastructure, increased fundraising will be a critical and continuing imperative for CU. To this end, the university recently revamped its advancement operations to more directly align its fundraising structure with the university.

“As long as society has burning questions that remain to be answered, new frontiers that remain to be explored, we must continue to push hard for greater capacity in everything we do,” said CU’s Vice President of Advancement Kelly Cronin, who came to the university in August. “Today we celebrate the passions of our donors and the efforts of our faculty and staff, and look ahead to a future in which generous donors continue to better equip CU to educate, innovate and foster positive change.”

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Contact: Jeremy.Simon@cu.edu