$110 million enriches UH

By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer

The University of Hawai'i raised more than $110 million in private donations over the past four years, marking the end of the largest fund-raising campaign in the university's history and a possible shift in fortune for the financially troubled system.

Tonight, the university will announce the conclusion of its "Campaign for Hawai'i," which is ending one month early and at least $10 million ahead of its $100 million goal.

Officials also are expected to announce the largest single gift ever to the university from an individual. An anonymous couple's gift will more than double the previous record of $3.4 million.

In the course of the campaign, the University of Hawai'i has tripled its fund-raising prowess and now pulls in donations at the rate of $30 million a year. In the early to mid-1990s, about $10 million a year in donations came to the University of Hawai'i Foundation, the fund-raising arm of the 10-campus system.

About 25,000 alumni donations came to the University of Hawai'i Foundation over four years.

Overall, more than 100,000 individual or corporate donations were made.

The campaign is the latest effort by the university to seek money outside the state budget. Already, UH professors bring in about $180 million each year in grants and contracts. The Board of Regents also voted this year to raise tuition.

"Although the state remains supportive, we all know the amounts of money we get are not growing," said Pat McFadden, president of the UH Foundation. "We need more for scholarships. Tuition will continue to go up. We're going to need to retain the right faculty. If you want to recruit and retain good people, you have to pay them."

The $110 million in fund-raising also represents a silver lining to what have been dark times at UH.

While the state has given UH plenty of money for construction during the past decade, the university's operating budget has dwindled, leaving the school unable to keep up with the cost of even basic services. The 10-campus system faces a maintenance backlog of nearly $170 million and prominent faculty members have been recruited by other universities willing to pay much more. This spring, a 13-day faculty strike was the latest blow for the university system.

Hawai'i's struggling financial fortunes in the 1990s made it an uncertain time to aim for the $100 million mark.

"We had a bad economy," UH President Kenneth Mortimer said. "There were a lot of people who said you can't raise that kind of money in Hawai'i now. We proved them wrong."

Mortimer, who will leave the university at the end of June, spearheaded the organization of the fund-raising campaign in 1997. It has been the largest private fund-raising campaign in Hawai'i, he said.

"One of the major goals we've had is to partner with the community in a number of ways," Mortimer said. "Universities around the country have turned to the larger community for support. When I arrived it was clear that we were underperforming in this manner."

A combination of cold-calling alumni, sending direct mail and contacting previous donors brought money to the campaign. UH students working six days a week called between 50,000 and 80,000 people each year to solicit donations, Mortimer said.

Major gifts, considered to be those of $10,000 and higher, were solicited by some key administrators such as Mortimer and major organizers of the campaign such as U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, First Hawaiian Bank CEO Walter Dods and Bank of Hawai'i CEO Larry Johnson, all UH graduates. People interested in giving to a certain college or program typically met with deans and faculty members.

The amount of money raised by the foundation grew in each year of the campaign. The foundation has reported receiving $19 million in 1998, $24 million in 1999 and $33 million in 2000. The amount raised for 2001 will be released tonight, but is reported to be more than $34 million.

Around 5 percent of the principal, or about $5.5 million, will be spent each year, Mortimer said. The money will be spent this way:

• About 25 percent will go toward student scholarships and other forms of assistance, doubling the amount of scholarships offered each year.
• 40 percent will go to equipment, software, laboratories and facilities.
• 15 percent will go to faculty support and endowed chairs.
• 20 percent will go to the general endowment to enhance the university.

The foundation received 75 percent of the money as outright donations. The other 25 percent is promised to UH in deferred giving, especially estate planning. Most of the donations were earmarked by the giver for specific purposes.

The source of the donations was:

• 10 percent from alumni.
• 45 percent from corporations and foundations.
• 42 percent from other individuals and organizations.
• 3 percent from faculty and parents.

Lawrence Cutwright, president of the UH Alumni Association, said influential members of the campaign board, and especially Mortimer, have helped bring in the major donations.

"To the best of my knowledge, I don't recall anything in recent years that even approached this," Cutwright said. "It was ambitious, but extremely successful during a very difficult time in our economy.

Some of the major donors to the campaign included:

• $3.4 million from the estate of Nadine Kahanamoku, widow of legendary swimmer and surfer Duke Kahanamoku, to establish a scholarship for up to 10 medical students each year, with preference given to Native Hawaiians
• $1 million from each of the major banks in Hawai'i.
• $1 million from UH regent Donald Kim for the College of Engineering.
• $2 million in land from regent Everett Dowling's development company.
• $1 million from the Robert and Betty Wo Foundation and the James and Juanita Wo Foundation to UH community colleges.

The campaign raises the bar for future UH fund-raising. McFadden said the foundation now has $30 million a year as a benchmark, although it doesn't expect to bring in that much every year.

The fund-raising announcement will be made tonight at a celebration at 6:15 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Correction: A previous verstion of this story incorrectly reported the number of University of Hawai'i alumni who contributed to the "Campaign for Hawai'i." About 25,000 alumni donations came to the University of Hawai'i Foundation over four years.