{"id":1448,"date":"2018-03-08T10:04:16","date_gmt":"2018-03-08T15:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/?p=1448"},"modified":"2021-05-24T12:34:46","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T16:34:46","slug":"campaign-update-contributions-near-84-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/2018\/03\/08\/campaign-update-contributions-near-84-million\/","title":{"rendered":"Campaign update: Contributions near $84 million"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_1449\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1449\" style=\"width: 960px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1449\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2018\/03\/student-union-for-blog.jpg?resize=960%2C504&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"University of Detroit Mercy supporters have donated more than $83 million toward the University\u2019s $100-million campaign goal. One of the major projects planned is a renovated student union on the McNichols Campus, reimagined to become the face of Detroit Mercy.\" width=\"960\" height=\"504\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2018\/03\/student-union-for-blog.jpg?w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2018\/03\/student-union-for-blog.jpg?resize=300%2C158&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2018\/03\/student-union-for-blog.jpg?resize=768%2C403&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1449\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">University of Detroit Mercy supporters have donated more than $83 million toward the University\u2019s $100-million campaign goal. One of the major projects planned is a renovated student union on the McNichols Campus, reimagined to become the face of Detroit Mercy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Campaign for Detroit Mercy has made considerable progress toward the $100 million fundraising goal by 2019 and students are seeing the results in expanded programming, new learning spaces and enhanced opportunities in the classroom.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have seen strong momentum since we began the public phase of our campaign in October,\u201d said Vice President of University Advancement Arnold D\u2019Ambrosio. \u201cWhen we announced the campaign in late October 2017, we were a little over $78 million. Today, just four months later, we\u2019re nearing $84 million.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This momentum comes in gifts of all sizes, with a large number of them from individual donors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe good news is that 77 percent of the total contributions have come from individuals who love the University and the vast majority of those donors are alumni of University of Detroit, Mercy College of Detroit or Detroit Mercy,\u201d D\u2019Ambrosio said. \u201cThis is a big shift from previous campaigns when corporate and private foundations played a larger role. We think this shows the special place that the University holds in the hearts of its alumni.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among recent developments:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A talk by National Book Award-winner Ibram X. Kendi brought more than 400 students, faculty, staff and community members to hear about the history of race relations. It was funded by the new endowed Drs. Karen and Thomas Waters African-American Studies Program Enrichment Fund. Karen Waters is a former associate professor of Social Work.<\/li>\n<li>The new Center for Innovation and Collaboration in the College of Engineering &amp; Science has been designed to foster creativity, build community and encourage the generation of ideas. This new Center was funded by a donation from two-time alumnus and national defense supplier Fred Seibert and his wife, Suzanne.<\/li>\n<li>An estate gift has established the Arnold Jarboe Endowed Chair in Business for the College of Business Administration. This allows the University to attract the best educators from across the country to teach tomorrow\u2019s students.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Another bright spot in the campaign is the number of gifts that have been designated to the University\u2019s endowment. Since July 1, 2011, when Dr. Antoine M. Garibaldi became Detroit Mercy\u2019s president, the University\u2019s endowment has more than doubled and now stands at more than $58 million. Of that growth, some $20 million are gifts in hand; additional gifts have come in the form of pledges and other commitments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is important, because individual donors, foundations and other organizations see a strong endowment as an indicator of the stability of the University, and know their gifts and grants are going to a well-run organization,\u201d D\u2019Ambrosio said.<\/p>\n<p>The Campaign for Detroit Mercy comprises four categories:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Scholarships and financial aid \u2014 To date, the University has raised $32.3 million toward a $40-million goal to provide endowed and expendable scholarships, which will ensure that the University can attract and retain the best students from across the country, regardless of their ability to pay.<\/li>\n<li>Programs and Faculty \u2014 Our nationally recognized programs and faculty are two reasons students consider University of Detroit Mercy. Detroit Mercy has surpassed the goal of $25 million, with more than $32.6 million raised toward this end.<\/li>\n<li>Facilities Improvements \u2014 Attracting and retaining students requires up-to-date facilities where students can learn, study and pass the time. One of the most-anticipated projects is the reimagining of the Student Union into the welcoming heart of the McNichols Campus. The University has set a goal of $25 million for updating, retrofitting and creating new spaces for students and faculty on its three campuses. To date, gifts totaling $10.3 million have been raised toward the goal.<\/li>\n<li>Unrestricted and general \u2014 Unrestricted funds are necessary to allow the University to address sudden needs or take advantage of opportunities for student or faculty learning. Donors have given $7.7 million toward the goal of $10 million.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cGoing forward, we need to focus on the facilities, especially the new Student Union,\u201d D\u2019Ambrosio said of the planned multi-million-dollar student center renovation, which will modernize and reimagine the facility, making it the new face of the University.<\/p>\n<p>To help communicate the campaign needs and reconnect with alumni and University friends, Garibaldi and D\u2019Ambrosio continue to travel to spread the word about Detroit Mercy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we\u2019ve seen every place we\u2019ve visited are alumni who love Detroit Mercy and are willing to help it continue its Jesuit and Mercy mission of great education, dedication to the city of Detroit and commitment to service for many years,\u201d D\u2019Ambrosio said.<\/p>\n<p><em>For more information about the Campaign for University of Detroit Mercy, visit udmercy.edu\/giving or call 313-993-1250.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Campaign for Detroit Mercy has made considerable progress toward the $100 million fundraising goal by 2019 and students are seeing the results in expanded programming, new learning spaces and enhanced opportunities in the classroom. \u201cWe have seen strong momentum since we began the public phase of our campaign in &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":1449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[10,30],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2018\/03\/student-union-for-blog.jpg?fit=960%2C504&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Kcng-nm","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1448"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1448"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7366,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1448\/revisions\/7366"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}