<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\tGifts, pledges already helping students<\/h5>\n
Inspired by a glimpse of success over the horizon, leaders of Bemidji State University’s Imagine Tomorrow campaign are determined not to let up now.<\/p>\n
With $31 million given or pledged as of Oct. 14, the five-year goal of $35 million is achievable by the target date of June 30, 2016, said Dave Sorensen ’72, chair of the Campaign Steering Committee.<\/span><\/p>\n “Support has been coming from people who have an affinity for Bemidji State, from our alums and from people who have heard about the success of our campaign and want to be a part of this wonderful university and what’s happening here,” Sorensen said.<\/span><\/p>\n Plans call for continued communication from President Richard Hanson to alumni and friends regarding both the campaign and developments on campus. BSU Foundation staff and campaign volunteers will also maintain their outreach to prospective donors and followup with individuals who have expressed interest in giving but haven’t done so yet.<\/span><\/p>\n “We’re at a stage now that we’re looking at going back and talking to some people,” Sorensen said.<\/span><\/p>\n One surprise has been a greater-than-expected propensity for outright gifts of cash or assets versus planned or estate gifts.<\/p>\n “It’s a great story because it’s money that the university can use in a quicker way and a more direct way,” Sorensen said.<\/span><\/p>\n Another impressive result has been the level of participation by the university’s staff and faculty. Five-year pledges for this fiscal year totaled $423,000 compared with $45,000 in the previous year.<\/span><\/p>\n Money received so far has already made a significant impact:<\/span><\/p>\n “This campaign has lifted us up,” Hanson said. “We will be more able to tolerate down-dips; we will be more able to support our students. Access and affordability have been greatly improved for our students, and those are two significant words. I couldn’t be prouder of our staff and our volunteers. It’s really working.”<\/span><\/p>\n Another outcome has been a significant strengthening of the foundation staff, including a decision this summer to move former chief development officer Marla Patrias into a new role as prospect research manager. Her replacement, Jonathan Yordy, has significant fund-raising experience in higher education.<\/span><\/p>\n “One thing you want at the end of a campaign is an infrastructure that is far stronger than what you began with,” said Rob Bollinger, BSU’s executive director of university advancement. “We will have that at this university as we bring this campaign to a close.”<\/span><\/p>\n Dr. Steven Rosenstone, chancellor of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, continues to be an enthusiastic supporter of the Imagine Tomorrow campaign, something he expressed Oct. 1 during a one-day visit to Bemidji.<\/span><\/p>\n “It’s been an outstanding effort,” Rosenstone told students. “I don’t know of a university in the country that has been able to move this far with private giving.”<\/span><\/p>\n Inevitably, as the goal inches closer and the end of the campaign draws within sight, conversation has also turned to what comes next – the possibility of a future campaign once Imagine Tomorrow has reached a successful conclusion.<\/span><\/p>\n Both Hanson and Sorensen continue to stress the need to continue to reinforce a culture of philanthropy within and around Bemidji State that will be crucial because state support has dramatically declined over the past several years.<\/span><\/p>\n Inspiration will come from the benefits that private support provide to BSU students, Hanson told members of the National Campaign Committee who met on campus at Homecoming.<\/span><\/p>\n “The stories of their success are moving and powerful, and it’s because of people like you that we get it done,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n\n