Planned Fundraisers
The University’s Funding Needs
To reach the next level of excellence, the University needs to raise $20 million by the year 2012 in support of the 20/20 Vision Plan. To satisfy this need, the Virginia State University Foundation is partnering with the University to execute a two-pronged fundraising model that includes a $12 million multi-year Major Gifts Capital Campaign and an expanded Annual Giving Program focused on raising $8 million in annual gifts.
University administrators and volunteer leaders, faculty members and students have identified the following annual program support, endowment and facility needs as crucial to the attainment of superior academic distinction:
Endowment and Capital Needs (Goal $12 million)
Endowed Scholarships are needed to ensure the long-term ability of the University to provide student financial aid. For this reason, the University will establish new endowed scholarship funds. Donors who set-up a fund with a minimum gift of $50,000 may name the fund. (Goal $5 million)
Endowed Professorships at $100,000 each (one in each of the academic departments) will aid the University by supplementing faculty salaries, research, and travel and by reducing the student-to-faculty ratio. Holdings such professorships is an honor in the academic world, and the University will use the earnings from these endowed positions to reward its best faculty members and to recruit top professors from other institutions. (Goal $2.2 million)
Building, Renovation and Equipment includes the acquisition of property, renovation of Locket Hall and McDaniel Hall, and upgrading nursing technology equipment. Capital gifts allow the University to prepare for its long-term future. They help the University build and to restore campus facilities, stay on the cutting edge of technology, and sustain a comprehensive range of academic programs. (Goal $4.8 million)
Annual Needs (Goal $8 million)
The Annual Fund includes funds raised for general, unrestricted purposes. Annual giving programs generate steady support that can be used each year for special services, expenses not provided for by the state, unanticipated educational initiatives, and the athletic program. (Goal $3.5 million)
Student Financial Aid and Tuition Assistance is a primary need of the University. These scholarships fill the gap for many Virginia State University students that often exists each year between the funds they have available and the costs of tuition, educational materials, room, and board. (Goal $2.5 million)
Academic Program Support involves enhancing curricula to foster intellectual inquiry. This supplemental annual support is aimed at programs that augment the University’s teaching, research, and community involvement. Of immediate focus are the Honors Program, supplemental funds needed for student travel associated with their studies, and expansion of an arts program in the city of Petersburg and the surrounding community. (Goal $2 million)