Syracuse University

August 2, 2011

Thanks to the leadership of the Syracuse University's D.C. Regional Council and the loyalty of Washington, D.C.-area alumni and friends, The Campaign for Syracuse Univesity's second regional fundraising effort raised in excess of $18 million as of June 30, 2011.

Kicked off on February 1, the effort targeted SU alumni, parents, and friends in the D.C. region and yielded gifts supporting a multitude of SU programs, scholarships, and research initiatives—both at SU and SU's D.C. home, the Greenberg House.

As of June 30, 2011, more than 500 donors had demonstrated the importance of SU in their lives, many crediting both their personal and professional success to their SU experiences. "SU shaped me into a well-rounded leader who is able to leverage his passions in his career," Brian Spendley, '99, an associate for Hagerty Consulting Inc. and a donor to the D.C. initiative, says.  "If it had not been for all the great opportunities my experience at SU provided me, I can honestly say I wouldn't be where I am today."

Highlights of regional giving include the establishment of a faculty support fund in the Maxwell School, continued leadership support of the Whitman School of Management's real estate program, and the creation of the Greenberg Speaker Series by SUinDC programming advocate Paul Greenberg '65.  Most significant was a $15 million naming gift from David '72 and Rhonda Falk '74 establishing the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.

The Campaign for Syracuse University, D.C. region summary:

7.1.03 to 6.30.11

>> Total alumni: 13,865

>> Total donors (alumni, parents, friends): 3,653

>> Regional alumni participation: 26%

>> Total dollars raised: $58,969,011

>> Regional portion of total campaign dollars raised: 7%

D.C. Donors, 2.1.11 to 6.30.11

>> Total donors (alumni, parents, friends): 551

>> Generation Orange donors (graduates of the past 10 years): 109

>> New annual fund donors (donors who had never made a give or had not made one in the previous six years): 147

D.C. Dollars Raised, 2.1.11 to 6.30.11

>> Total dollars raised: $18,042,459

>> Dollars raised from Generation Orange (graduates of the past 10 years): $8,763

>> Total dollars raised by new annual fund donors (donors who had never made a give or had not made one in the previous six years): $24, 807

The D.C. initiative was preceded by a fundraising effort in Boston, and is being followed by campaigns in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco.  "The Washington, D.C., effort was a great success for us and demonstrated the loyalty of our alumni and friends," says Brian Sischo, SU's vice president for development.  'Our gratitude goes out to all of our donors for their commitment to SU and for believing in the power of Scholarship in Action."

Spendley echoes Sischo's words.  "I believe it's important to give back to the school that gave me so much," he adds.  "I also think it's important to support the school so it can continue to grow and continue to create incredible opportunities for SU students.  I'm so proud to be a Syracuse University alumnus and to this day, I continue to bleed orange."

SU's efforts to engage alumni, parents, and friends in D.C. will continue.  "Through SU's presence at Greenberg House, local events, our partnerships with the Washington D.C. and Greater Baltimore alumni clubs, and sustained communications," adds Sischo, "we will ensure that the ties between Syracuse and the D.C. area grow ever stronger."

Gifts to the D.C. regional initiatives are counted in The Campaign for Syracuse University's total and will support five key areas of the University:

>> Student Access and Support: to increase support for scholarships, assistantships, and fellowships

>> Faculty Excellence: to endow deanships, chairs and professorships, and to provide funds for faculty recruitment and retention, start-up costs and professional development

>> Cross-Connections: to advance interdisciplinary teaching, research and community engagement initiatives, particularly in the areas of technology and science, social policy, community and economic development, the humanities, communications and the arts

>> Building Futures: to enhance teaching and research facilities and provide state-of-the-art technology on campus, as well as at SU's regional centers in New York City, Los Angeles and Washington D.C., and study centers abroad

>>Annual Support: to provide flexible, immediately available dollars that enable the chancellor, deans, and other division heads to funnel dollars wherever they are most urgently needed

View the D.C. honor roll

See more statistics

Read reflections on SU and the campaign

Watch video of alumni

Learn mroe about the D.C. effort at suindcgiving.syr.edu.