Toward Quantum Progress
An Interview with IU Foundation President Curt Simic
With Matching the Promise, the IU Foundation embarks on another major campaign. After the success of the Bloomington Endowment, why another campaign and not more fundraising as usual?
A campaign gets the institution, development staff, and donors on the same page. It helps the institution make decisions about its fundraising priorities. Most importantly, a campaign is a special occasion. We ask donors to treat it as such when they look at their assets — as if to say, "This is something I might do three or four times in my life," as opposed to annual giving.
What is the role of philanthropy in helping IU Bloomington reach its full potential?
Without private support, the best we can hope for is incremental progress. Philanthropy is a nurturing agent, responsible for making any kind of quantum progress for the institution. We no longer have buildings that are fully supported by the state. There's always a gift component involved. The percentage of the state's education budget has been shrinking steadily. If we want IU to remain at the top of its game, we must make up the difference with private support.
What new strategies are being used for Matching the Promise?
One of the exciting strategies is that the thresholds for qualifying for matching funds are lower than in previous campaigns. I think this will bring in a new group of donors. Many more people are able to consider a gift of $50,000 than $500,000 or a million dollars. They may already be annual donors, but the occasion of this campaign and its lower thresholds will be very attractive.
Matching the Promise is comprised of three tactical goals: Undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, and endowed professorships. What do you see as the greatest challenge of the three?
Our society understands the importance of helping children get from high school to college to prepare them for the next phase of life. We haven't done as good a job of communicating the importance of helping graduate students and graduate education. The assumption is, "Well, they go on to become professors." But graduate students earn MBAs and law degrees, too. There is a wide range of career pursuits outside the professorate. Part of our job in this campaign is to make that clear.
IU Bloomington and Matching the Promise are but two of hundreds of worthy causes. People who give to IU do not give solely to the University. What sets IU apart?
Supporting IU is really about investing in people. That's why I say I hope we can focus on people in this campaign. A conversation with the Lilly Endowment that resulted in the $53 million gift for the sciences here in Bloomington revolved around people. The chairman of the board said, "You know, we have to trust you. And you're telling us that these people that you've listed can do the job of propelling the sciences forward, but what are you doing to keep them?" We were able to say "endowed chairs and professorships." We were able to say "two multidisciplinary science buildings." We had some initiatives already in motion, but it came back to people. That's what really ignites the imagination.
What can IU Bloomington graduates expect Matching the Promise to accomplish?
This campaign is about developing human potential. IU Bloomington provides a great college experience in which you can immerse yourself totally. But we must never become complacent. Regardless of how fantastic an institution is, there is always room for improvement. People often remark on how manageable IUB feels for a campus community of more than 35,000. The genius of Herman B Wells is demonstrated nowhere more effectively than in the campus' commitment to maintaining green space, human scale, and beauty. Matching the Promise will build on that genius. Of that, I am confident.
