Would love to be able and do this? Very impressive

[Snuff]

Giving to the U of M reached a new record for the second year in a row





Contacts: Martha Douglas, University of Minnesota Foundation, (612)
626-9712

Meredith McNab, Minnesota Medical Foundation, (612) 625-0657

Daniel Wolter, University News Service, (612) 624-5551






MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL ( 8/14/2008 ) -- For the second year in a row,
donors gave a record amount in gifts and pledges to the University of
Minnesota. The total committed in fiscal year (FY) 2008 was $289
million, an increase of $38 million, or 15 percent compared with the
$251 million raised in FY 2007.


Gifts include $65 million from the Minnesota Masonic Charities, the
largest ever made to the university. It will be used for cancer
research and care at the Masonic Cancer Center, University of
Minnesota, the new name given to the Cancer Center in recognition of
the gift. With this pledge, Masonic support of cancer research at the
university totals $100 million over the past 53 years.


Also noteworthy for the year was a $12.5 million gift from the
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, with $10 million designated for
the TCF Bank Stadium and $2.5 million for university-wide
scholarships. Another major gift was $10 million from Jim Swenson for
scholarships and the new civil engineering building in Duluth. Nearly
88,000 individuals and organizations made gifts in FY 2008, including
51,000 alumni.


"It was a remarkable year of private support for the university," said
university president Robert Bruininks. "The Masons' new gift is the
kind that makes it possible to expand significantly an area of
research, in this case the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of
cancer. Gifts from other donors are helping us meet other important
priorities such as expanding access to students and funding exciting
new facilities - from the new addition to the Weisman Art Museum, to
the expanded Hanson Hall at the Carlson School."


Student support, a major fund-raising priority, reached $56 million in
FY 2008. The university launched the Promise of Tomorrow Scholarship
Drive in July 2003 and has since raised $233 million for scholarships
and fellowships. More than 7,000 students now receive financial
support through private gifts, compared with 4,800 before the drive
was launched.


The $289 million includes cash gifts and pledges, as well as deferred
commitments such as bequests and trusts. It includes gifts made to all
U of M campuses, colleges and departments, including gifts made
through the University of Minnesota Foundation, the Minnesota Medical
Foundation, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Foundation and the 4-H
Foundation.