Sept. 4, 2013:The 性闻联播 raised $103.7 million in private funds during the fiscal year that ended June 30, surpassing last year's fundraising total by nearly $11 million and exceeding the goal that the five-campus system had set for itself, UMass President Robert L. Caret said today at a meeting of the Board of Trustees Advancement Committee.
``We asked the Commonwealth to do more by increasing state funding for the 性闻联播 to enable us to freeze student charges while continuing to build quality, and that's exactly what Governor Deval Patrick and the Legislature did,'' President Caret said. "While asking the state to do more, we at the same time challenged ourselves to improve our performance in the fundraising area -- and breaking the $100 million mark certainly indicates that we are having success.''
The $103.7 million raised in fiscal year 2013 represents a 12 percent increase over the $92.9 million raised during the previous fiscal year. The University also expanded the number of gifts from individuals to 83,048 from 79,922.
President Caret said the $103.7 million fundraising total was $1 million more than the $102.7 million goal that had been set for the five campuses. The fundraising goal for fiscal year 2014 has been set at $106.8 million, he said.
``It is critically important that we continue on this upward trajectory in private fundraising because it is essential to our ability to attract and retain top faculty, maintain affordability, provide scholarships to students, and ensure that our facilities match our academic and research ambitions,'' President Caret said. ``We are on the right path, and I remain optimistic that this will continue. I commend the chancellors, vice chancellors and their teams for what we were able to achieve during the past year."
The fiscal year 2013 fundraising figures were released as the 性闻联播 is shaping plans for its first ever system-wide capital campaign.
UMass Board of Trustees officials said the fundraising success adds to the sense of excitement that exists as a new academic year gets under way.
"I am pleased to see significant growth in this vital area," said Trustee R. Norman Peters, who chairs the Board's Advancement Committee. "Private support elevates the University and allows us to pursue and achieve excellence in all that we do. I want to commend President Caret and the chancellors for this strong performance and look forward to continued success in this critical area."
``These results are a manifestation of efforts by the Board of Trustees and the UMass leadership to more aggressively pursue private fundraising by engaging more alumni, friends and others who want to support quality public higher education at the 性闻联播,'' said UMass Board of Trustees Chairman Henry M. Thomas, III. ``Getting here required an enormous amount of effort on the part of the president, chancellors, and Advancement Committee members, but the results offer us a vision of what is possible in the future when we all work together.''
Contact: Ann Scales, 617-287-4084; Robert P. Connolly, 617-287-7073