Donations boost North Dakota Spirit Campaign past $215 million
North Dakota Spirit | The Campaign for UND is less than $84 million from its $300 million goal, thanks in part to two large gifts by alumni and friends of the University of North Dakota. One is a $3 million bequest made to UND through the UND Foundation, and the other is a $3 million cash gift to the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences.
The total raised for the campaign stands at more than $216 million, an increase of $14 million since the campaign publicly launched last October at the “Ignite the Spirit” event, in front of more than 2,000 students, faculty, alumni and friends of the University. The Chester Fritz Auditorium was packed, and the excitement was palpable. Since the launch, 887 donors have committed to the campaign, bringing the total number of campaign donors to 30,918! “The North Dakota spirit is exhibited daily in the generous actions of our alumni and friends. Their enthusiasm for and participation in this campaign has been overwhelming,” says Tim O’Keefe, ’71, executive vice president and CEO of the UND Alumni Association and UND Foundation. “As we grow closer to reaching our $300 million goal every gift makes a tremendous impact on the University of North Dakota’s students, faculty, programs and facilities.”
Private gifts impact our innovative programs, like the Career Mentoring Endowment, which provides resources to the Pancratz Career Development Center to help create mentoring and networking opportunities for students in the College of Business and Public Administration. Private gifts impact our extraordinary places through endowments such as Fran and Evans Karpenko Campus Beautification Endowment, which provides funding for landscaping to enhance the graceful beauty of UND’s campus. Because of private gifts, the Campaign for UND to date has directed more than $25 million to our inspirational educators and almost $66 million to our passionate students! “We are fortunate at the University of North Dakota to have very passionate, committed and generous alums, demonstrated by the growth we have already seen in our North Dakota Spirit campaign. We appreciate every gift we receive as we continue to move our university from great to exceptional,” said UND President Robert O. Kelley.
