IU sets new record for private donations

This year, the private sector has made IU $301 million wealthier. \nIU President Adam Herbert announced Thursday that IU received an all-time record amount -- a 20-percent increase from last year -- for private sector support through gifts and nongovernmental research grants in the fiscal year 2005.But what this $301 million won't do is help alleviate the University's consistent debt, said Curt Simic, president of the IU Foundation. It's still too early in the planning process to determine exactly how this money will be used, he said.\n"The record level of private sector support reflects significant donor pride in the high quality of Indiana University's faculty and academic programs," Herbert said in a press release. "It provides momentum as we continue to build IU's impressive institutional success."\nHerbert was not available for comment Thursday.\nIU received private gifts through the Riley Children's Foundation, which is associated with IU's Riley Hospital and private sector research grants. The bulk of the voluntary support came in the form of private gifts through the IU Foundation.\n"Really, this reflects a long-term trend as we've gone forward with private support," Simic said. "We've been among the top fourteen for support among the Harvards and the Stanfords because we get very broad support."\nIn the fiscal year 2005, IU set a record not only in total voluntary support, but also in nongovernmental research grants, gifts to the Riley Children's \nFoundation and in the number of donors.\nBecause of the high competition for state dollars, less than 30 percent of IU's operating budget is provided by state appropriations, making IU state-assisted rather than state-supported, according to the IU Foundation's Web site. Tuition and fees only provide another 25 percent of the budget, which makes gifts vitally important to the University.\nIU spokesman Larry \nMacIntyre said this private sector support is essential to IU's primary academic mission. It provides the resources necessary to compete for the very best professors in their fields, to build high quality buildings, outfit laboratories with the latest and best equipment and provide scholarship funds to compete for top-quality students in academics and athletics, MacIntyre said.\n"One of the main reasons IU has so much to offer is the generous support we have received from donors over the years," MacIntyre said. "IU would not be the special place that it is without this generous support."\nThis year's donations, totaling $301 million, show only a .03-percent increase from the previous all-time record of $300.9 million raised in 2001.\nThe overall increase in total voluntary support in 2005 overcame the sharp decline in 2002 -- when the level of voluntary support dropped to $183.6 million -- with a dramatic increase in private gifts to the IU Foundation and private sector research grants. \nThe number of donors grew from 99,805 in fiscal year 2001 to a record 107,586 in fiscal year 2005, "a significant increase in a challenging period of time," Simic said.\n"State appropriations are declining as a percentage of IU's operating budget, and the University is committed to keeping tuition and fees at an affordable level. Gifts are vital to filling the gap," according to the IU Foundation's Web site.\nAll IU students benefit from private sector support, MacIntyre said. A huge advantage for IU students is that the University has more endowed chairs, 379, than any other Big Ten institution, MacIntyre said. Scholarships are also another benefit students reap from private sector support.\n"A large percent of what we get now will go toward undergraduate scholarships," Simic said. "And right now, that's going to be our top priority"