U of I, Foundation have banner year in fundraising for FY09

Despite a bad U.S. and global economy, private gifts to the University of Illinois and to the University of Illinois Foundation unofficially totaled $220 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2009. While the official total will be released in late September, the preliminary $220,277,923 million figure is 2.6 percent more than last year and is one of the largest on record for the University and the Foundation. The Urbana campus raised in excess of $149.9 million, which is a 3.4 percent increase from a year ago. The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) had an 11.1 percent increase with gifts totaling $65.5 million. The University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) raised $2.04 million during the year.

“We are most pleased with our development efforts on the three campuses this year,” states Dr. Sidney Micek, president of the University of Illinois Foundation. “These past 12 months have been tough with the economy, but the continued support from the alumni and friends of the University have been outstanding. I want to publicly thank all of our supporters over the past year. The passion and interest that individuals have for the University is most gratifying.”

There were more than 146,500 total gifts and more than 80,000 donors credited to the University during FY09. Those figures were up 5.9 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively, from a year ago.

The University of Illinois Foundation is the fundraising arm of the University of Illinois and its three campuses: Urbana‑Champaign, Chicago and Springfield. The Brilliant Futures campaign is the third comprehensive capital campaign for the University of Illinois. As of June 30, 2009, the campaign total is $1.671 billion or 74 percent toward its goal of $2.25 billion. The Urbana‑Champaign campus had raised $1.184 billion of its $1.5 billion goal to date. UIC has raised $424.9 million toward its $650 million goal and UIS has raised $21.3 million towards its $28 million goal. The campaign began July 1, 2003, and is scheduled to conclude December 31, 2011.