Penn State Development Receives Excellence Award

May 26, 2000
University Park, Pa. -- Penn State has received the Circle of Excellence award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) in recognition of the exemplary performance of the University’s fund-raising programs. CASE presents the award annually to institutions that show an exceptional pattern of growth in total private support, based on fund-raising results as measured by more than a dozen objective indicators.

In 1998-99, Penn State received $151.1 million in private gifts from alumni and friends, the eighth consecutive year of increased giving and the third consecutive year of double-digit percentage increases. It also ranked first in the nation for the third year in a row in the number of alumni (72,208 in 1998-99) who make gifts to their universities.

Gift totals for the current fiscal year will be available in early July.

Penn State's seven-year Grand Destiny campaign aims to raise $1 billion in private support for University-wide programs during the seven-year period concluding June 30, 2003. As of April 30, 2000, a little more than halfway through the campaign, the University had received $785 million in actual gifts plus pledges and other future commitments.

Officials of Washington, D.C.-based CASE will present the award to representatives of Penn State’s Division of Development and Alumni Relations at the Council’s International Assembly in Toronto on July 14.

"This national recognition is a tribute to the thousands of alumni and friends who have so generously shared their resources with Penn State, and to our volunteer fund-raisers in the Grand Destiny campaign," noted Rod Kirsch, Penn State Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations. "Most importantly, this award is well-deserved recognition of the men and women in our Division who work so hard, day in and day out, to manage our fund-raising efforts efficiently and to make sure that the University is a good steward of the philanthropic dollars shared with us."

Peer institutions that also won the Circle of Excellence award for fund-raising programs include Ohio State University and the Universities of Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Virginia and Washington.

Penn State’s professional fund-raising staff also won a CASE Seal of Excellence award for a special internal program, "University Development Training and Mentorship." The program, which aims to enhance the professional skills of the fund-raising staff, includes monthly seminars on topics ranging from stretching the travel budget to technical aspects of charitable tax law. It also offers junior staff members the opportunity to work more closely with senior mentors. Penn State was among nine universities nationwide to receive this recognition.