Creating a Culture of Philanthropy :
Central Michigan University
Central Michigan University and Campbell & Company partnered to establish a successful constituent-wide culture of philanthropy during CMU’s first-ever capital campaign.
Central Michigan University (CMU) is a vibrant, complex institution with total enrollment of 28,000 and more than 200 degree programs. In the late 1990s, University leaders recognized that a long-term decline in state funding was challenging the institution’s ability to stay competitive.
CMU, like an increasing number of public universities nationwide, began to consider launching its first-ever capital campaign. As the University had never conducted a private fundraising campaign or fully developed a major gifts program, it turned to Campbell & Company to conduct a philanthropic market study and provide campaign implementation counsel. Our recommendation—engage key University constituents in the campaign, involve them in case development and donor prospect screening and ask them to support the campaign at the highest levels possible.
Early campaign results were encouraging. Three trustees provided leadership with $1 million gifts that were recognized by the naming of three new residence halls. “The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions” recognized the Dow Foundation’s $5 million leadership gift toward a new building that enabled the expansion of CMU’s nationally recognized program. The public phase of the campaign, christened “A New Vision of Excellence,” began in September 2003, seeking $50 million for student scholarships, faculty and program endowment, an enhanced campus environment, and ongoing and special programs.
When its historic first capital campaign ended in September 2006, CMU had raised a total of $78 million, including 15 gifts of $1 million or more. Nearly 32,500 donors were first-time contributors. Thanks in part to over 230 new endowed funds, the University’s endowment grew by 66 percent during the campaign.
Campbell & Company’s six-year partnership with CMU has been very successful, not just because the University has secured nearly unprecedented levels of support, but also because the CMU began to see itself through its donors’ eyes. Applying a constituent-centered approach to fundraising, the University considered potential donors’ interests and values in relation to its needs and its donors responded, giving generously and moving CMU toward its new vision of excellence.
