Despite the economy’s dismal state in the last half of 2008, Cal State Long Beach was able to raise almost $6 million more than it did during the same time frame of the previous fiscal year, according to Michael Losquadro, Associate Vice President of Development.
During the months of July to December in 2008, charitable contributions including two $5 million gifts — one from an alumnus and the other from an anonymous donor — were given to CSULB, raising its total amount of donations to $20 million. However one of the donations is in the form of a bequest and will not be available immediately.
The total amount raised during that same five-month interval in 2007 was $14.4 million.
“This year has been a very strong year,” Losquadro said. “We are cautiously optimistic for the next half of the fiscal year. There have been ebbs and flows but things are all pretty much in line to where they need to be.”
Each individual college is “ahead of schedule” in terms of funding, Losquadro said, which means each college was able to raise more than 50 percent of its annual goal already halfway through the fiscal year.
A recent press release states that the California State University system reached a collective total of “record donations” in the 2007-2008 fiscal year.
Contributions to the CSU system provide a “margin of excellence,” said CSU spokesperson Erik Fallis. Because CSU campuses are supported two-thirds by state revenues and the other third by student fees, specialized programs are backed solely by money raised from fundraising and gifts.
In CSULB’s case, donations help support student scholarships, research programs, and resources such as the Student Managed Investment Fund, the Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership, the Spidell Technology Center, and the Italian Studies program.
The most recent contributions to date will be going towards Athletics Department, the College of Liberal Arts, and “restricted gifts,” such as scholarships and specific fields of study, Losquadro said.