University of Illinois Brilliant Futures Campaign Passes $2 Billion Mark

The University of Illinois’ Brilliant Futures Campaign, the largest in the school’s 143-year history, has passed the $2 billion mark and was 89 percent towards its $2.25 billion goal as of Sept. 15, 2010.

The campaign began on July 1, 2003, and will conclude Dec. 31, 2011. The campaign counts outright gifts, grants, and pledges to the University as well as deferred commitments. Of the $2 billion raised to date, $1.345 billion was in the form of outright commitments and $655.1 million was in deferred gift arrangements. $1.199 billion has been designated for current use and $801.1 million was designated for endowments.

“I think the campaign progress we have made is a testament to all alumni and friends of the University in addition to all faculty, staff, and students on all three campuses,” notes Sidney S. Micek, president of the University of Illinois Foundation. “Everybody associated with the University has a real passion for the institution. I don’t know of another institution that is in a multi-billion dollar campaign that has undergone so many changes with leadership at the top, with a new president and new chancellors, a new Board of Trustees, and the worst economy in a generation. We still have a lot of work ahead of us to finish the campaign strong, but we have great momentum.”

As of Sept. 15, 2010, $1.406 billion had been designated by donors for the Urbana-Champaign campus, $525 million for University of Illinois at Chicago, $23.8 million for the University of Illinois Springfield and $45.6 million for the U of I Foundation and University Administration purposes. The funds are used to support many areas, including student scholarships and fellowships, faculty support, academic programs, facilities, and research.

Nearly 38 percent of the total raised has come from alumni of the University, with another 13 percent from non-alumni. Corporations and businesses have contributed 20 percent, 18 percent is from foundations and family foundations, and 11 percent is from special groups and other private sources.

The University of Illinois and the Foundation had a banner year in FY10 in terms of new business. New gifts, grants and pledges received totaled $295.6 million in FY 2010. That is the second best year on record after the $371 million recorded in FY 2007. It is also the fourth year in a row that new business has eclipsed the $250 million mark. Of the FY10 total, $159.2 million is for outright gifts and $136.4 million is deferred.

“Ramping up giving to another level is one of the many goals you have in a campaign…and we have achieved that with giving at the $250 million plus level for four consecutive years,” says Micek. “That is a most noteworthy accomplishment for us.”

This is the third comprehensive capital campaign for the University of Illinois. The initial fundraising endeavor, Campaign for Illinois, exceeded its $100 million goal by raising $134 million between 1979 and 1985. The second effort, Campaign Illinois, was launched in 1991 with a goal of $1 billion. When that campaign closed on Dec. 31, 2000, gifts totaled $1.53 billion, making it one of the largest fundraising efforts conducted by a public university at that time.

For additional Information, contact:

Don Kojich
Associate Vice President for Marketing and Communications
University of Illinois Foundation
2217-333-0246
dkojich@uif.uillinois.edu