Fall wasn't the only thing that arrived in Charlottesville this past weekend. Thousands of alumni descended upon Grounds as the Board of Visitors launched the public phase of the University's Capital Campaign, a $3 billion fundraising initiative aimed at establishing the University as a "privately funded public institution."
With over 50 special events planned, including a fireworks show over the Rotunda and a gala event playing host to nearly 1,100 invited guests, the kickoff attracted famous alumni faces such as Tiki and Ronde Barber, Katie Couric and Paul Tudor Jones, the son of the namesake of the University's new basketball arena.
"I'm just really very happy I could be a part of this," Couric said. "I think it just reinforces what a special place the University is and to see the loyalty and passion it engenders long after people have left is really a wonderful thing."
The Campaign, which has raised over $1 billion during its "quiet" phase, is now entering upon a new, possibly harder stage of fundraising.
"I think the second billion dollars is likely to be the most difficult [to raise] but we've got such tremendous momentum going into this second phase, the public phase -- we're very optimistic," Campaign Chair Gordon Rainey said. "It's difficult to sustain an intense momentum throughout a period of five years--that's a long time -- so I think its sort of working hard every day."
Rainey and Bob Sweeney, senior vice president for development and public affairs, both noted that the "quiet" portion of the Campaign was comprised mainly from large donations from single contributors.
"During the so called 'quiet' phase you concentrate primarily on major gifts because you want to kick of the public phase with as much of the Campaign committed as you can," Rainey said. "We haven't done badly, we have a billion dollars plus some change, but now we're going to go into a national public phase of this and will be going to things all over the country."
According to Sweeney, the Campaign will now work to expand its possible donation pool, focusing more on giving from parents, young alumni and class trustees.
"It will be both more of the same, which is really large gifts, but broadening it as we go forward to include a much larger number of alumni and friends," Sweeney said. "Each stage broadens a bit ... [to include] everybody from Paul Tudor Jones, who donated close to $50 million to someone who gives $50, all are encompassed in the Campaign."
In an effort to spur continued donations, Tiki and Ronde Barber pledged $1 million during the Campaign gala on Saturday. The first $500,000 is an outright pledge going to various organizations including the athletics department and the McIntire School of Commerce. Noting that alumni contributions have declined from its peak of 30 percent since the enlargement of the University's young alumni population, the other half of the donation is in the form of a challenge grant issued in order to encourage fundraising by young alumni
"My wife and I, and Tiki and his wife, Jenny, have decided for us to start giving back to the University, and in so doing hopefully encourage other alumni as well," Ronde Barber said. "U.Va. has given us a great competitive advantage and we want to help further ensure that this school is one of the leading institutions of higher learning in the world. ... We want to use our marketability to help give to the University."
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