Murray State University engaged more than 4,000 donors for the 2022-2023 academic year, resulting in record-breaking fundraising numbers which benefited different areas of the University.
Tina Bernot, executive director of development, said the University received $16.7 million in total contributions and new documented planned gifts and pledges.
Bernot said the public launch of the Be Bold – Forever Blue & Gold campaign at Homecoming helped the campaign find success.
“We have been working quietly behind the scenes in the many months prior to [the launch] to secure new significant and transformational commitments toward [fundraising],” she said.
According to a University press release, the Be Bold Campaign is now over $62 million in total gifts and commitments, and this fundraising effort highlights Murray State’s dedication to the success of students’ academic opportunities as well as campus facilities.
Bernot attributed success to the number of donors who committed to a multi-year pledge.
“Our fundraising efforts are about building relationships with alumni and friends who are passionate about…ensuring that a Murray State education is accessible to all students,” she said. “We are both donor-centered and mission-centered, so we focus donor dollars where [the donors] envision their impact while also fulfilling the University’s mission and our campaign goals.”
Bernot said when fundraising is approached from this perspective, efforts are consistently successful across the University.
“Our goals include raising $50 million for student access and support, $35 million to benefit academic excellence and the strategic modernization of campus facilities, $5 million to renew our historic campus and $10 million to support Racer Athletics,” she said.
The lead gift to the campaign to date is a $2.8 million gift for scholarships in the Jones College of Science, Engineering and Technology, Bernot said. She also said funding for the preservation of historic buildings has already resulted in major updates to Lovett Auditorium and Wrather Hall.
“Significant modernization projects are underway in the Curris Center and in labs from the Bauernfeind College of Business to the School of Engineering,” she said. “Donor support established the Tosh Farm Wean Finish Facility in the Hutson School of Agriculture – a hands-on facility for our students to take what they learn in the classroom to practice.”
She said the first-ever endowed professorship in Agriculture Science was established because of contributions from the fundraiser, and support for Racer Athletics has resulted in facility updates as well as innovative programming to enhance the training and leadership development of student athletes.
“From the creation of the Dennis Jackson Racer Room to a new indoor practice facility for golf and other sports, private support is making a tremendous impact,” she said. “Fundraising success in Racer Athletics saw support more than double from the previous year.”
Bernot emphasized that the fundraising goal is to improve student and faculty life on campus.
“My role is to lead our team toward the successful completion of our mission – to enrich the lives of those touched by Murray State University by maximizing private support for the University and its mission,” she said.
More information on the Be Bold Campaign can be found at https://murraystate.edu/news/posts/be-bold-campaign-fundraising-report.aspx.
