University of Colorado

A Message from the President

May 2013

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Taking fundraising to the next level

CU has seen considerable success in its fundraising. We have set records in each of the past several years, including last year's $228.5 million. We have raised $1.4 billion toward the $1.5 billion goal of our Creating Futures campaign. Yet we can and must do better.

State funding for higher education in Colorado continues to decline. While CU will receive a slight increase for the coming fiscal year (the first increase since 2008), it will continue its slide in future years. Colorado ranks 48th nationally in state funding per student.

We have taken a variety of measures to address this, including securing legislation over several sessions of the General Assembly that has allowed us to be more efficient and save millions. We have cut staff and services (reducing administrative overhead to 44 percent below national peers), improved our business practices, cut red tape and enhanced engagement with key constituents. Additionally, many faculty are teaching and advising more for minimal compensation.

The next step in that process is to enhance our fundraising to help support our academic and research efforts. We engaged Grenzebach, Glier and Associates, a leading international philanthropic services firm, to assess our efforts and make recommendations for improvement.

Their primary recommendation is to realign our development organizational structure and move fundraising staff from the CU Foundation to the university, which will provide clear and direct reporting lines from fundraisers to academic leadership. We will also hire an executive vice president for advancement to oversee our efforts.

CU will continue to benefit from the valuable contributions of our volunteers on the CU Foundation Board of Directors and Board of Trustees. They are a critical resource of people who not only understand the university's value and needs, but also know from their personal experience and generosity what a difference donors can make. The board members exemplify the power of connected volunteers. They practice what they preach and they tap into their personal and professional networks to help us expand the circle of people who want to help CU. Their leadership is important to our success and they will provide continuity as we move to our new model.

I am confident that the moves described above will enhance our efforts to engage our donors, whose generous contributions add considerable value to people, programs and facilities at CU.

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Office of the President, University of Colorado
1800 Grant Street, Suite 800, Denver, CO 80203
General Phone: (303) 860-5600 | Fax: (303) 860-5610
officeofthepresident@cu.edu
www.cu.edu