Michigan State University in East Lansing completed its Empower Extraordinary fundraising campaign on Dec. 31. The effort, which was launched in October 2014, generated more than $1.8 billion ($1,834,145,673).
“I am deeply grateful for every member of the Spartan family — alumni, friends, faculty, staff, students, parents, and others — who helped us reach beyond our goals,” says Satish Udpa, acting MSU president. “These gifts will empower our community for generations, allowing Spartans to push the boundaries of discovery and help people realize their potential.”
The university’s goal was $1.5 billion, and there were 255,284 donors overall. The campaign finished with the best December on record at $59.4 million for the month.
About $376.5 million in endowed support was raised with $76.3 million immediately available to fund scholarships and fellowships. More than $148 million already is at work, and the funds raised will support 3,500 additional undergraduate students through scholarships each year.
The funds also allowed for 112 new endowed positions to be established, including the university’s first named professorships in Libraries and the College of Nursing. The largest number of new positions also were created for the College of Engineering (21), the Broad College of Business (16), and the College of Natural Science (16).
On the facilities front, $293.8 million was raised for 22 capital projects.
“Guided by our strategic priorities and many generous donors, this campaign is already having an impact,” says Marti Heil, vice president for university advancement at MSU. “Students have access to additional scholarships and fellowships, we have increased endowed funds to help recruit and retain top faculty, colleges and units have more funding to support researchers who are doing cutting-edge problem solving, and additional investments have been made in new, modern teaching and learning facilities that will serve students, faculty, and our entire community into the future.”
During the campaign, 363 gifts of at least $1 million were documented. Over MSU’s history, a total of 242 gifts of $1 million or more were made to the university.
Of the money raised, 61 percent came from individuals, up from 49 percent in the previous campaign.
The largest single gift ever from an individual came during the campaign in September 2018 when Edward J. Minskoff donated $30 million to complete the Business Pavilion at the Eli Broad College of Business.
