BIG RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Ferris State University has announced the launch of a major campaign to raise $80 million. It’s the first comprehensive fundraising effort in the university’s 133-year history.
According to the university, Now & Always: The Campaign for Ferris State University is a multiyear campaign with three goals:
- Investing in students;
- Program expansion and innovation;
- Building partnerships.
FSU President David Eisler says the priorities the university are looking to fund are now. Priorities he says that will continue the investment into students and their education, like they have for the last 133 years.
“It humbles you to watch people say, ‘I had a great experience at Ferris and I want other to have that experience that I had,’” Eisler said.
That’s the “Always.” It’s part of a campaign that will not just add brick-and-mortar buildings. The university will match gifts to new and existing endowments dollar-for-dollar, allowing donors to name new endowments by donating $12,550 or more, according to a FSU news release.
“This is an opportunity for a person with a modest amount of money to create something that endures forever and helps students for as long as we’re a university,” Eisler said.
The structures in Big Rapids will be sleek and modern. A new facade to the athletic training complex and space inside to house their growing programs, like volleyball. One new building, the Swan Annex broke ground last year. It’s a $30 million building that houses welding, engineering and manufacturing technology.
“We’re going to work as hard as we possibly can to meet this goal and we’re not going to ever think that this is something that’s absolutely going to happened, but it’s something we’re going to work our very hardest to make occur,” Eisler said.
The university president says $44 million will go towards the buildings and program expansion.
The third goal of the campaign aims to expand the university’s outreach within the 100 communities, industries and educational partnerships they collaborate with.