Institute unveils Capital Campaign

On Saturday, Nov. 12, Tech will unveil its latest fundraising campaign to raise $1.5 billion by Dec. 2015. The campaign has raised almost $1 billion for permanent endowments, capital projects and current operations since it began in 2004.
“Campaigns provide a fundraising environment in which goals and aspirations are compressed into a specific period of time which creates a sense of urgency and institutional imperative…[It] is defined by a time period…in this case an 11-year period of time and a series of financial objectives that only philanthropy can address,” said Barrett Carson, Vice President for Development.
Plans for the campaign began in 2004. Since July 1 of that year, the Office of Development has internally been keeping track of incoming donations, and as of Oct. 31, the campaign has raised a little over $925 million from over 50,000 donors.
The initial goal for the quiet phase was to raise $1 billion by Dec. 31, 2010. However, the campaign goal will be increased from $1 billion to $1.5 billion in the summer of 2011 as part of Tech’s new 25-year strategic plan. The deadline for the campaign was pushed from Dec. 2010 to Dec. 2015.
The campaign is comprehensive in that the money raised will be used for all three major types of spending and investment that the Institute makes—permanent endowments, capital projects and current operations.
With permanent endowments, the principal donation is invested and managed by the Georgia Tech Foundation. The Institute never draws directly from the principal investment. Instead, the interest generated from the investments is used. These endowments are used for a variety of purposes. They commonly support various student endowed scholarships such as Georgia Promise or endowed graduate fellowships and faculty endowments.
Another portion of donations is used for capital purposes that include facilities and instrumentation. Funds from the campaign have contributed to the construction of the Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons (CULC) and the renovation of the Hinman Architecture building.
The remainder of the donations are used for current operations. These donations are for expendable purposes and are available for use within the fiscal year that they are donated.
The campaign was initially structured with a quiet phase to build a case for support and generate momentum for additional donations. The Institute decided to publicly announce the campaign during the summer of this past year.
“No state can afford an Institute like Georgia Tech. Private philanthropy has to be the differentiator between what is merely good and what is truly great,” Carson said.
Tech’s current capital campaign is its largest effort in school history and has already raised more money than any single previous fundraising effort.