Pitt seeks to raise $2 billion

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ If you think this year’s presidential election has lasted a long time, Pitt… ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ If you think this year’s presidential election has lasted a long time, Pitt has been on the campaign trail way longer than that. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Building Our Future Together capital campaign was launched officially in 2000 with a goal of raising $500 million mainly for newly endowed scholarships, said Tom Crawford, associate vice chancellor for corporate and foundation relations. ‘ ‘ ‘ The goal doubled twice, once in 2002 when the University reached the original one, and again in 2006 when it hit the $1 billion mark. ‘ ‘ ‘ As of this fall, Pitt has raised $1.27 billion out of a $2 billion goal for its capital campaign, according to a news release. ‘ ‘ ‘ Crawford stated that other targets for the money raised during the campaign include creating endowed fellowships and faculty positions and funding research initiatives. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘What we’re really trying to do with the second half of the campaign is to support the chancellor’s desire to support students,’ he said. ‘ ‘ ‘ According to the release, Pitt created 398 new endowed scholarship funds, 32 new endowed fellowship funds and 98 new endowed faculty positions, in addition to various student life initiatives and construction and development projects. ‘ ‘ ‘ Another landmark in the Building Our Future Together capital campaign was well-known engineer and Pitt alumnus and trustee John A. Swanson’s $43.1 million gift to the School of Engineering last year. ‘ ‘ ‘ According to the School of Engineering’s Web site, the money funded the expansion project of Benedum Hall, which started earlier this year; created an endowed fund that will provide scholarships, fellowships and faculty support; and provided the school with an income to help it keep up with technological advancements. ‘ ‘ ‘ Swanson’s donation is the largest from a single donor in Pitt’s history, and the school was renamed to the Swanson School of Engineering. ‘ ‘ ‘ Crawford emphasized that Chancellor Mark Nordenberg’s main goal, and the main goal of the campaign, is to raise money for new endowed scholarships. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘There is a heavy emphasis on student support scholarships,’ said Crawford. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt set 2014 as the year by which it wants to reach its $2 billion goal, although it hopes to reach the goal early, Crawford said. ‘ ‘ ‘ He added that all universities employ the same type of fundraising and that capital campaigns encompass all funds raised by the university within a given time period. ‘ ‘ ‘ Money for the campaign comes from foundations, corporations, disease-specific foundations such as the American Heart Foundation and individual donors. ‘ ‘ ‘ Crawford said that 37 percent of funds have come from foundations. Some notable donations include $13 million from the Richard King Mellon Foundation to establish and support a pediatric research institution and two grants totaling $21.4 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for vaccine research. ‘ ‘ ‘ Another 12 percent comes from corporations. ‘ ‘ ‘ Take, for example, the $500,000 donation from the U.S. Steel Foundation for scholarships. ‘ ‘ ‘ Disease-specific foundations donate 13 percent of funds. Their money generally goes toward finding cures for or working toward the eradication of specific diseases. ‘ ‘ ‘ The rest of the money, 48 percent, comes from individual donors and the Annual Fund, said Crawford. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Annual Fund secures donations through mailing lists and the Pitt TeleFund. Both target alumni, friends of the University and current and retired faculty and staff. ‘ ‘ ‘ He said that although donors may give larger gifts over a period of several years, most of the annual gifts are one-time donations. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt generally initiates contact with the foundations and corporations that donate, Crawford said. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Most of what we do is build relationships,’ said Crawford. ‘ ‘ ‘ Staff members from the Office of Institutional Advancement meet with potential donors to find out what the organization is interested in supporting and then come back to them with a ‘menu’ of what Pitt offers in that field. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We’ll keep your intent in mind,’ said Crawford, ‘but it has to go back to address a need on our end.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ He said that both Pitt and the donor must agree on what is to be done with the money before Pitt can accept it. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Office of Institutional Advancement assigns staff members to work with each school within the University on fundraising initiatives.