(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch
This story was originally published by Iowa Capital Dispatch and is unaltered.
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UNI reaches $250 million fundraising campaign goal ahead of schedule [1]
['Brooklyn Draisey', 'More From Author', '- January']
Date: 2024-01
The University of Northern Iowa’s fundraising campaign has reached its $250 million goal more than two years ahead of schedule, prompting the university’s foundation to increase its fundraising objective by $50 million.
The UNI Foundation now hopes to raise $300 million by 2026 through its “Our Tomorrow: The Campaign for UNI” initiative, according to a news release. The additional dollars raised will go to scholarships and student emergency funds, academic programs and faculty and facilities renovations.
“The overwhelming support has challenged us to dig deeper and to envision what students will need from UNI 10, 20 and 50 years from now,” said UNI President Mark Nook in the release. “We have more to accomplish before we celebrate our sesquicentennial in 2026.”
The campaign began its “quiet phase” of funding in 2018 and publicly launched in 2022, according to the release, and donated funds are split among areas of need that include students, faculty and staff, academic programs and learning spaces.
Funds raised so far have gone to creating 253 endowments and 424 new scholarships and investing in six new and expanding programs, as well as athletics and renovation projects.
A total of $67.5 million has been given to scholarships, $89 million has been raised for academic programs and faculty, and Wilson Automotive Group owner and CEO David Wilson gave a $25 million gift to the newly named David W. Wilson College of Business.
UNI has received donations from every state in the U.S. and 17 countries, with almost half of the gifts coming from first-time donors.
“The success of the Our Tomorrow campaign is thanks to the more than 28,000 alumni and friends who have stepped up to support UNI,” Nook said. “The impact the Panther family has had on our university is profound. We already see those impacts touching every facet of campus and it’s inspiring.”
Each of the campaign’s pillar goals have expanded with the new funding goal. The university hopes to raise $75 million for scholarships and $1.5 million for urgent student needs, an additional $4 million to double resources for engaged learning, and $10 million more for academic programs and faculty.
The campaign is seeking $3.5 million to launch UNI’s new nursing program, as well as finish funding phase one of UNI-Dome renovations and updates and expansions to the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. UNI also hopes to raise funds for construction of new facilities for its wrestling program.
“Raising the campaign goal became a necessary step toward a bolder future for the university as new needs have arisen,” said Jim Jermier, vice president for university advancement and president of the UNI Foundation, in the release. “In the remaining two and a half years of the Our Tomorrow campaign, we invite our alumni and friends to rally around priorities that will help us build the tomorrow UNI needs.”
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