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Syracuse University’s Forever Orange Campaign has raised $884 million to date, an increase of $40 million since the end of January. 

Launched in November, the campaign aims to increase the university’s endowment through private donations. The university set a goal to raise $1.5 billion from 125,000 unique donors and have 20% of SU alumni actively engaged with the university. 

The $884 million comes from 83,538 unique donors, said Matt Ter Molen, chief advancement officer and senior vice president. The campaign raised about $846 million from 81,763 unique donors as of Jan. 31. 

In November, 9% of the university’s alumni base had engaged with the campaign. The amount of engagement has since increased to 12%. Several alumni have participated virtually and through social media amid the coronavirus pandemic, Ter Molen said.

“Given all the challenges of COVID, one bright spot is that all the alumni are really interested in all the digital programming that we’re offering,” Ter Molen said.

While donations to the campaign slowed due to COVID-19, Ter Molen understands the decrease given the economic impacts of the pandemic. The campaign is still on track to meet its goals by the end of its five-year public phase.  

The university launched the Syracuse Responds fund in April to generate funding for financial aid programs, the Deans Fund and the South Campus Food Pantry, which Hendricks Chapel runs.

In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, the campaign also shifted its focus following a wave of national protests against systemic racism and police brutality, Ter Molen said. 

The campaign has been pushing to receive more support for scholarships that aid underrepresented communities and to fulfill fundraising goals the university committed to following the #NotAgainSU movement, Ter Molen said. 

#NotAgainSU, a movement led by Black students, protested the university’s response to a series of racist incidents reported on campus last academic year.

“We haven’t just been focused on COVID (relief funding) but also the campus commitments and following up on racial justice and how we support all of our students here,” he said. 

Published on August 27, 2020 at 12:13 am

Contact Maggie: mehicks@syr.edu | @maggie_hickss