“In Our Hands: The Campaign for North Dakota State University” raised more than $586 million during the six-year comprehensive campaign, the NDSU Foundation announced Feb. 14. It is the largest higher education fundraising campaign in North Dakota history.
“Twelve years ago, I was on a campus poised to accomplish more and contribute more than any college or university in the state ever had,” NDSU President Dean L. Bresciani said. “We all shared that vision — our students shared it, our faculty and staff shared it, our alumni shared it, our corporate partners shared it, people across the country have shared that belief. What we’ve accomplished here is the biggest fundraising effort in the history of the state of North Dakota. We have done that collectively as the Bison Family.”
Campaign co-chairs included Steve Swiontek, BS ’78, along with his wife Mary Anne, BS ’77, and Robert, BS ’67, and Sheila Challey.
Governor and NDSU alumnus Doug Burgum joined students, President Bresciani and NDSU Foundation leaders to announce the results at a campaign reveal party for benefactors, faculty, students and staff at the McGovern Alumni Center.
“This is a marking point for a new beginning for NDSU and the state of North Dakota,” Burgum said. “The Bison Family is made up of families, and it’s made up of families that generationally care about this. When people take the action of putting their time, talents, and their treasure toward an institution at a magnitude we’ve never seen before, it means something remarkable for the students who are here today and the students who are coming.”
More than 15,000 benefactors participated in the campaign, which publicly launched in October 2019 with a goal of raising $400 million over seven years, after having already secured more than $300 million during the quiet phase that began January 2016. By May 2021, the campaign reached its $400 million target 20 months ahead of schedule, and NDSU leaders decided to complete the campaign one year earlier than previously scheduled.
When the dust settled on Dec. 31, 2021, the final “In Our Hands” campaign tally exceeded its goal by more than 47%.
“This campaign was about relationship building. We reacquainted people with old relationships, we brought in new relationships, and now we are stronger than we’ve ever been,” said alumna Kristi Hanson, campaign ambassador. “Today, I am so proud to be a Bison.”
The NDSU Foundation’s endowment grew dramatically during the campaign, thanks to new gifts made and investment performance. Prior to the campaign’s beginning, the endowment value stood at $134 million, as of Dec. 31, 2015. As of Dec. 31, 2021, the endowment stood at $457 million, a 241% increase.
The transformational level of “In Our Hands” support from benefactors will send ripple effects long into the future for NDSU’s continued rise as a student-focused, land-grant, research university.
The campaign focused on four categories – scholarships, faculty, programs and facilities.
‘In Our Hands’ by the numbers:
• Campaign total: $586,651,144
• $238.3 million raised for scholarships
• $40.7 million raised to support faculty
• $178 million raised for programs
• $129.7 million raised for facilities
• $104.7 million distributed to campus since the campaign start
• 15,068 donors made gifts, of whom 4,263 were first-time donors
• 506 new scholarships
• 22 new named faculty positions
• NDSU Team Makers raised $41.9 million for Bison Athletics
“Rare is there a profession where one gets to work with really remarkable people in especially meaningful ways,” said John Glover, NDSU Foundation President and CEO. “Bison Nation has been remarkable through this campaign, and the future of NDSU is now brighter than ever.”
As a student-focused, land-grant, research university, we serve our citizens.
