FGCU Foundation campaign tops $75 million in two years
3 – minute read
The FGCU Foundation’s fundraising campaign to enhance Florida Gulf Coast University’s academic excellence reached a $75 million milestone in August.
As the effort to elevate scholarships, faculty and programs continues, sights are set on reaching $100 million.
“We’re so grateful for everyone who’s supported us this far,” said Cindy Learned, University Advancement assistant vice president. “We created so much momentum during the first two years of a three-year campaign, reaching and surpassing our funding goals. We anticipate bringing this same fundraising capacity to the library renovation and to endow programs and positions for the Honors College.”
Launched in 2022 as FGCU celebrated its 25th anniversary and envisioned its future, the “Turning Ideas into Impact” campaign has fueled 43 new endowed scholarships.
“We have surpassed $6 million in scholarships awarded in the first two years of the campaign and expect to do so again this year,” Learned said.
The campaign also established 14 new non-scholarship endowments, including two endowed faculty positions in the Bower School of Music & the Arts.
Endowed positions enrich academic excellence by attracting faculty who are experts in their field and advance research in their area, Learned said. They also draw additional faculty and students because of published research and reputation.
“Academic excellence is a daily activity at FGCU, and this initiative will not ultimately be complete until every college and school has an endowed position,” Learned said.
The campaign also delivered resources to expand programs, faculty and labs in the newly accredited Stock Development Department of Construction Management. Seed money was generated for new strategic initiatives — the Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging and the Golisano Intellectual Development & Disabilities Initiative.
The initiatives’ impacts will resound far beyond campus. They aim to strengthen the local economy via workforce development and the community through expanded resources, research and outreach in areas of critical need, Learned said.
The Shady Rest Institute in Marieb College of Health & Human Services, for instance, is well-positioned to provide a holistic approach to successful living. Considering Southwest Florida has a large population of older residents, it’s a prime place to serve as a living laboratory for researching and fulfilling their needs.
For more information on how to support such initiatives, go to the campaign website, fgcu.edu/impact, email [email protected] or call 239-590-1067.