WMU sets third straight record for private gifts
Oct. 11, 2002
KALAMAZOO -- For the third consecutive year, Western Michigan University set a new record for private gifts, with $26 million received during the fiscal year that ended June 30.
The new record total, reported at the Sept. 27 annual meeting of the WMU Foundation, represents a 40 percent increase over the record $18.5 million received just one year earlier.
During the first four years of Dr. Elson S. Floyd's presidency,
WMU received in excess of
$75 million in private gifts, an amount roughly equal to the
combined total raised in the preceding two decades.
"This extraordinary growth in private support is a testament to the profound dedication and loyalty to this University of our alumni and friends," says Floyd. "It is also a testament to the important work being done here."
A partial distribution of $8 million from the estate of alumna Gwen Frostic helped propel the University to the new record gift total. Floyd acknowledges that much of the groundwork for Frostic's and other recently received large gifts was laid years or decades earlier.
"It is important for us to recognize that this level of support does not come to an institution overnight. In some cases, these gifts represent a life-long relationship between the donor and Western Michigan University," he says.
According to the report presented at the foundation's annual
meeting, $26,025,019 in gifts was received during the 2001-02
fiscal year. In addition to a record in total gifts, the University
also set a new record with cash gifts of $20,194,737. That represents
an increase of more than $3 million or
20 percent over the previous one-year record for cash gifts set
in 2000-01. The University received non-cash gifts valued at
$5,857,282, which is the second highest annual total for non-cash
gifts, falling just shy of the record $5.87 million received
in 1990-91.
All gifts to Western Michigan University are received through the WMU Foundation or the Paper Technology Foundation, which supports the internationally known paper programs at WMU.
Media contact: Thom Myers, 269 387-8400, thomas.myers@wmich.edu