Forever Valpo Fundraising Campaign

[David81]

It was a $28 million campaign entitled "Forward to the 80's." I know because I attended a dinner in 1980 here in Iowa featuring President Schnabel. The centerpiece of the campaign was the ARC, which I believe wound up costing a bit over $7 million.

This campaign was a big stretch for VU since as late as 1967 VU had no endowment. None. That began to change with President Huegli. In 1976 VU received its first $1 million gift. Huegli stepped down in '78 and Schnabel was brought in (my uncle made the final cut but was not selected).

The campaign was a big success and I think they raised around $60 million.

Funny story about President Kretzmann. He was asked if it was right for VU to accept government GI Bill money so that WWII vets could come here. He was asked if this money was "tainted." His reply? "It's tainted, all right - 'taint enough."

Paul

Paul, I didn't know that VU's endowment was zilch as of that relatively late date. It's clear that while O.P. Kretzmann was significant in defining VU's intellectual and spiritual endowment, he was not attentive to the development side of things.

Anyway, I went back to Dr. Richard Baepler's superb history of VU, "Flame of Faith, Lamp of Learning," in search of info about VU's fundraising efforts. (Seriously, it's one of the best university histories I've ever read, amidst of a sea of such books that run the gamut.) The 1980s campaign was called "The Crusade for Valparaiso University" (interesting twist in view of current mascot discussions!) and raised $72m, including projects such as the ARC and the new Wesemann Hall.

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough money raised to cover a third wish-list project, a new performing arts center. That would come later.

So I should also give President Schnabel credit for moving VU into the modern era of fundraising, along with Presidents Harre and Heckler.

David

[vu72]

Actually there was a campaign under Schnabel to build the current ARC sometime between 1980 and 1985.  While it's high school-ish, it was a big upgrade in seating size and added the indoor track. They brought in Notre Dame to play the dedicatory game.  Was that cost $6 or $7 million or so?  Does anyone know?

I seem to recall a price tag of $3.1M to $3.5M


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This from the Athletics facility page:

Subsequently, a program of needs was developed by a campus committee. The Valpo Board of Directors then designated the ARC as a priority capital component of Valparaiso University, thus a national comprehensive effort to raise $50 million in support of the University. Ground was broken for the ARC on April 23, 1983.

The $7.25 million Athletics-Recreation Center added 84,000 square feet of new construction to the existing facility, thereby providing at one site a complex of over 142,000 square feet for physical education, athletics, and recreational activities.

[vu72]

New total posted:  $275,576,592  That's an increase of a little over $600,000 in about two weeks!

[vu72]

Why hasn't there been any announcements about specific gifts? I think the last one was the $15 million deferred gift when the total was at about $238 million.  That was $38 million ago!  There has to have been some sizable gifts/pledges since then.

[crusader05]

They seem to only announce the gifts when they are are fully funding a specific area like a department chair or program or it's a very significant amount of money. So if there have been lots of donation just to the general scholarship fund or maybe spread across different areas it seems like that just gets rolled into the total but no press release.

[valpo64]

I wonder if there are any big hitters in the pipeline for ARC renovation?

[bbtds]

I wonder if there are any big hitters in the pipeline for ARC renovation?

I think the fact that you are wondering about big donations for ARC renovations and that there have been no large donations  announced for that specific purpose is your answer.

[usc4valpo]

So Valpo raised 275 mil, but correct me if I'm wrong - that is a donation and not guaranteed cash to the school.

I am very concerned that this school is strapped for cash and maybe they are providing financial aid packages in a too generous fashion. Any info on this?

[vu84v2]

So Valpo raised 275 mil, but correct me if I'm wrong - that is a donation and not guaranteed cash to the school.

I am very concerned that this school is strapped for cash and maybe they are providing financial aid packages in a too generous fashion. Any info on this?

As I understand it, donations like these come in a variety of forms. Some are outright donations in which the money is immediately donated and can be used right way. Others are donations in which the money is immediately donated, but (per agreements between the donor and the university) is used over a longer period of time. Still another type of donation, which is probably a significant amount of the 275M, is donated over time and agreed to be used over a longer period over time (the donor would agree that actual funds provided are always at or ahead of the agreed usage). Money from estates would be included in this last group which, of course, often cannot have a specific date for when the money is donated (since it would be tied to one or more people passing away). To your point on guaranteed cash to the school, it would be correct to say that it is not 100% guaranteed until you have the money. However, my opinion is that people associated with the university are sincere and responsible and thus would be highly likely to meet the obligation that they agreed to.

As far as financial aid, most universities (including private schools) do release their discount rate (average percentage discount for all students versus the 'list price'). I would suspect this is around 30 to 40 percent for Valpo (but I have not seen the data). That would be consistent with most private universities in the midwest and budget planning always includes this in the models.

[usc4valpo]

So what does it mean to have this bowl of cash which is close to guaranteed money, and why not use it to make the university better, particularly in athletics? Bradley, Drake and Evansville have nice facilities - why not Valpo? Our facilities are on the bottom of the MVC and we need to step it up.

[vu84v2]

So what does it mean to have this bowl of cash which is close to guaranteed money, and why not use it to make the university better, particularly in athletics? Bradley, Drake and Evansville have nice facilities - why not Valpo? Our facilities are on the bottom of the MVC and we need to step it up.

Priorities (of the university and donors). There is always a debate on university priorities (which has been talked about here since the forum began). But in reference to these donations, a lot of it is specifically targeted in how the university can use it. If someone donates $100K for scholarships for business students or an endowed chair in history, that money can only be used for that purpose. I am totally speculating, but I imagine over half of the $275M has specific functions or programs that the money must be used for. Many donors shy away from donations to general funds.

[vu72]

So what does it mean to have this bowl of cash which is close to guaranteed money, and why not use it to make the university better, particularly in athletics? Bradley, Drake and Evansville have nice facilities - why not Valpo? Our facilities are on the bottom of the MVC and we need to step it up.

Priorities (of the university and donors). There is always a debate on university priorities (which has been talked about here since the forum began). But in reference to these donations, a lot of it is specifically targeted in how the university can use it. If someone donates $100K for scholarships for business students or an endowed chair in history, that money can only be used for that purpose. I am totally speculating, but I imagine over half of the $275M has specific functions or programs that the money must be used for. Many donors shy away from donations to general funds.

Correct.  Here are examples of specific gives for specific purposes:

https://www.valpo.edu/forevervalpo/2020/01/28/bauer-field/

https://www.valpo.edu/forevervalpo/2016/10/04/valparaiso-university-receives-1-8-million-for-endowed-scholarship-fund-2/

https://www.valpo.edu/forevervalpo/2020/02/06/historic-gift/

https://www.valpo.edu/forevervalpo/2019/02/01/business-professorship-and-scholarship/

[vu72]

So Valpo raised 275 mil, but correct me if I'm wrong - that is a donation and not guaranteed cash to the school.

The new total posted is $277,731,448.  I also heard President Padilla say at Homecoming that our endowment now is at $330,000,000 which is up from 254.2 in 2020.  So I guess a pretty good chunk of the pledged has been received, which is great news.

[usc4valpo]

Did Valpo ever actually have a celebration for reaching $250M. Or does the Forever Valpo fund go on forever?

[vu72]

Did Valpo ever actually have a celebration for reaching $250M. Or does the Forever Valpo fund go on forever?

Not forever! I think there wasn't a big celebration because the need to continue to raise funds would have stopped if it were made to be a big deal.

President Padilla has said it will end in June of 2022.  At Homecoming he said that there will be a "brief" victory lap but...then a new drive will start shortly thereafter.  The new needs he specified include a new Nursing building (now in three places and woefully outdated for a program ranked #1 in the State), a new or dramatically redone Business College building and third (not necessarily in that order), a new or redone ARC!  He acknowledged that we are way behind the competition and it needs to be a priority.

[crusadermoe]

Those projects make sense. 

The enrollment and financial picture will need to step up before big donors will want to buy into more buildings. Unfortunately, shortfalls create a vicious cycle.

[David81]

So Valpo raised 275 mil, but correct me if I'm wrong - that is a donation and not guaranteed cash to the school.

The new total posted is $277,731,448.  I also heard President Padilla say at Homecoming that our endowment now is at $330,000,000 which is up from 254.2 in 2020.  So I guess a pretty good chunk of the pledged has been received, which is great news.

The endowment boost may be due more to the extraordinary returns that many university endowments experienced during 2020. We're talking huge, jaw dropping, double digit returns. I'm not following these developments closely enough to know how the investment managers were able to do this, other than lamenting that my own investment "strategies" have yielded more modest returns. 

[vu72]

New total up. $278,454,517  That's up about $700,000 in a little over a month.

[crusadermoe]

That's great to hear.  Hope it is all or primarily spendable money. The Torch article said that they need two strong freshman classes to get back above water. 

[vu84v2]

That's great to hear.  Hope it is all or primarily spendable money. The Torch article said that they need two strong freshman classes to get back above water. 

It is very unlikely that any more than a third of the funds from donations that count towards endowment can be spent immediately.

[crusadermoe]

Per the news release a few posts ago, they have wrapped the new baseball field project and the $15 million chapel addition into the "Forever" total. So we can't necessarily assume each gift is an endowment gift.

in fact I think they are wrapping in all dollars for any purpose into the $270+ million number, even regular annual giving. In their current fiscal scenario, that's actually the urgent need.  Get above water and then build new facilities.

[vu72]

New total up: $281,178,894.  That's up $2.7 million in a month!  Remarkable.

[vu84v2]

Per the news release a few posts ago, they have wrapped the new baseball field project and the $15 million chapel addition into the "Forever" total. So we can't necessarily assume each gift is an endowment gift.

in fact I think they are wrapping in all dollars for any purpose into the $270+ million number, even regular annual giving. In their current fiscal scenario, that's actually the urgent need.  Get above water and then build new facilities.

While a majority of this money (>50%) is likely endowment, most universities count everything when posted fundraising results like this.

[crusader05]

Yeah I think that the name usually indicates the major focus of the fundraising efforts over the next however many years but that they also continue other types of fundraising and don't separate it out.  Basically this is what we want you to give money for but we'll take this other stuff too type of thing. It's like the title is more like a team slogan or branding tagline than it is a clear marker of what is or is not accepted

[David81]

This link goes directly to a doc listing college and university endowments, giving 2021 and 2020 amounts. Overall, due to investment performance more than fundraising, it was a remarkably successful year for most endowments, with median gains of 30 percent! VU did a bit better than that and shows up at #273 in total amount.

https://www.nacubo.org/-/media/Nacubo/Documents/research/2021-NTSE-Endowment-Market-Values-US-and-Canadian-Institutions--REVISED-February-18-2022.ashx?la=en&hash=7C30AAA008439416EFF0FAF8B4B380A7CD98A2AD

If you study the list, you'll also see that VU is doing respectably compared to many peer institutions, in both aggregate amount and the key figure of endowment dollars per full-time equivalent student. This does NOT mean that VU's financial challenges are illusory, but rather that its fundraising work over the years has been competitive among peer schools.