After raking in $84 million in the last year, Syracuse University believes it is on pace to reach its goal of a $1 billion endowment by the end of 2012, in a fundraising effort called The Campaign for Syracuse University.

SU reported a total fund of $675 million at the end of September, according to the latest tally by The Chronicle of Higher Education. That leaves the university with $325 million left to raise in 39 months, an attainable goal according to officials, including Brian Sischo, the campaign’s director.

‘We feel very good about the progress we’ve made in the campaign and our ability to meet the goal,’ Sischo said.

SU formally announced its campaign on Nov. 2, 2007.

In July, August and September of this year, the campaign raised a total of $14.8 million, far below the pace needed to reach a billion dollars. But summer is usually a slow period for fundraising, and winter is when most donations come in, Sischo said.

In 2008, SU raised $15 million from July to September but rebounded with $39.2 million from October to December.

The economic recession dampened fundraising efforts in 2009, both at SU and at universities across the country, said Kathryn Masterson, who reports on university fundraising for The Chronicle of Higher Education.

‘Other billion dollar campaigns have seen a real drop in giving since 2007-2008,’ Masterson said.

In September of 2009, the most recent month with figures available, SU raised $4.2 million.

But of the 33 schools with active fundraising goals of $1 billion or more, 21 had raised more than SU in this time span.

Cornell University raised $26 million in September, and Columbia University led all schools with $31 million, according to Chronicle figures.

The goal for now, Sischo said, is for SU to reach the $700 million mark by the end of the year.

‘I feel confident we’ll have some nice seven-figure gifts to close in the next six weeks or so,’ he said.

Donations have been picking up in the last several months, Sischo said.

‘The overall giving climate across the country has loosened up lately,’ he said. ‘Conversations with donors that were put on hold six to eight months ago are back on the table.’

At this point in the campaign, said SU Chancellor Nancy Cantor, the university has begun broadening its reach in an attempt to get more donors, even if they each give less money.

‘You target younger alums who may not be giving a lot,’ she said. ‘But you get them connected to the institution for the future.’

The campaign is currently collaborating with the School of Information Studies to find ways to use social media to its advantage in fundraising, Cantor said.

SU has been focusing on what Cantor called ‘mini-campaigns’ in targeted areas within the larger campaign, too. For instance, she was recently in Los Angeles to raise money for the university’s LA Semester program, intended for students interested in the entertainment industry.

Cantor pointed to programs like Syracuse Responds, which helped students remain at the university through extra financial aid, and Faculty Today, which creates endowed teaching positions, as ways the campaign has already benefited the university.

‘First and foremost, donors want to see real impact,’ Cantor said. ‘The crux of the campaign is to be able to connect the programs and people and opportunities that are happening, both on campus and around the country, to the interests of donors.’

The goal for the rest of the campaign is to bring in $100 million a year, Sischo and Cantor said. That may become more difficult as the university seeks out smaller gifts, though Sischo said that high-end donors have not yet been fully tapped.

‘We’re looking to broaden the scope and look down the gift table,’ he said.

jdmurp05@syr.edu

Published on November 18, 2009 at 12:00 pm