$1.5 Billion Capital Campaign Kicks Off

As celebratory blue spotlights eye Healy Hall and alumni A-listers flock to campus, the university's $1.5 billion capital campaign launches its public phase today.

Projected to last 10 years, the fundraising initiative, titled "For Generations to Come: The Campaign for Georgetown," began its quiet stage on July 1, 2006. Through the end of last fiscal year, the Office of Advancement had brought in $737 million in commitments, just short of 50 percent of its final goal.

The campaign relies on three primary sources of donations — alumni, friends and family of those who attended Georgetown, and nonprofit charitable foundations with some stake in the university's mission and goals.

Playing to the Hilltop's Strengths

With the campaign's kickoff comes a renewed focus on engagement with the student body.

"We do not want what we do in advancement to be invisible," Vice President for Advancement R. Bartley Moore (SFS '87) said.

Men's basketball Head Coach John Thompson III, Mortara distinguished professor of diplomacy and former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, as well as business mogul Ted Leonsis (CAS '77) are just a few of the big names set to speak at today's "Think About It: An Afternoon of Ideas" series. The event will be followed by a reception for faculty, staff, students and alumni, followed by a twilight toast and light show on Healy Lawn.

On Saturday, hard-hat tours of the New Science Center will take place, and University President John J. DeGioia will hold a brunch on Sunday.

Every event this weekend has spots reserved for what planners call its ultimate focus: students. Gearing up for the launch, the university sought to boost student awareness of the campaign's impact on their experience; leaders of the initiative hope that the intermingling of donors and undergraduates will only improve this understanding.

"It's exciting to see the campus community coming together for the improvement of future university endeavors," Dereck Hough (COL '13) said.

Grounded in Four Pillars

The Office of Advancement, coupled with administration and faculty, helped determine how the money raised will be spent. Ultimately, the group decided on a four-pillar approach to the money's allocation.

The first pillar, student access and excellence, will receive $500 million, with $400 million allocated to undergraduate programming and the remainder apportioned to graduate programming. The top priority of this allotment is financial aid, including both individual and aggregate needs, according to Moore.

"I think it's critical that the top priority is for financial aid so that Georgetown can continue to attract and retain the brightest young leaders regardless of where they come from," said Mike Meaney, president of the Georgetown University Student Association.

The second pillar, faculty access and excellence, also will be granted $500 million. Half of the funds will be allocated for existing faculty positions, creating new positions and securing salary and research funding for faculty members. The remaining $250 million will go to faculty work, research and programs.

Moore emphasized that by allowing faculty to pursue their research goals and facilitating their firsthand experiences with the material, students will benefit from improvements in the university's academic rigor.

"An incredibly talented faculty plus incredibly talented students results in great work," Moore said. "There is not a tradeoff between excellence in research and excellence in teaching."

The third pillar consists of $200 million for student life and capital expansion. The Intercollegiate Athletic Center and the New South Student Center will receive a portion of the funds. The larger focus for the sum is funding extracurricular activities for students, including mission and ministry, according to Moore.

The fourth pillar, transformative opportunities, will be allocated $300 million. Created to develop long-term plans that could change the institutional trajectory of the university, the category could include increased exposure of the Georgetown Public Policy Institute and a heightened focus on formalized global health expertise.

Overcoming a Historical Gap

While every university depends on philanthropy, Georgetown historically has not had the same philanthropic reach as some of its peers. It ranks 22nd in U.S. News and World Report's list of college rankings, but clocks in as 61st in endowments. The Office of Advancement sees the capital campaign as an opportunity to chart a new course in the university's fundraising history.

With this attitude and expectation driving the campaign, the endowment remains one of the prime targets. The administration attributes the size of its endowment — just over $1 billion — to the youth of the advancement program.

"Georgetown is relatively new to the fundraising game," Moore said. "This campaign is an inflection point. It is the moment where our fundraising capacity meets the rest of our incredible capacities in other areas."

Within the Office of Advancement, there is a sense of confidence that this campaign will mark a significant upswing in Georgetown's sustained fundraising capacity. The bicentennial campaign in 1989 and the 2003 billion-dollar capital campaign were very successful, both meeting their monetary goals.

"Almost no other institution has seen as strong a pattern of sustained philanthropic growth and consistent fundraising success as Georgetown has over the past 20 years," Moore said.