Calvin College Exceeds Campaign Goal
In only the second major fundraising campaign in its 133-year history, Calvin College has raised $155 million, exceeding the original $150 million goal set by the college in 2007.
The campaign, "No Greater Task: Hearts and Minds Renewing God's World," has raised about $45 million for scholarships and financial aid and faculty research and development. It has also funded new facilities, including the $50 million Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex and the renovated Fine Arts Center—now the Covenant Fine Arts Center—set to open fall of 2010.
Calvin College is located in Grand Rapids, Mich., and has close ties to the Christian Reformed Church.
The campaign for Calvin College began and ended during tough economic times. Feasibility studies for the fundraising effort began in 2001. Then came the terrorist events of 9/11 in 2001. And the closing of the campaign came during one of the most uncertain economic times in the last century.
"It was a pair of unsettling bookends to our fundraising effort," said Gaylen Byker, president of Calvin College. "Yet, in between these two monumental time periods were many moments for which Calvin is grateful."
The addition of more than 300 new student scholarships is one of many reasons why Byker calls the campaign a success. He also says that it is now time for Calvin to sustain the momentum gained during the two-plus years of the public phase of the campaign.
"Financial security at a place like Calvin is not assured," said Byker. "We need to continue to make people aware of Calvin's impact and how gifts to this place multiply through our graduates."
Calvin vice president for advancement Ken Erffmeyer said the campaign will support the college for decades to come, particularly the college's students. "Campaign priorities such as scholarships and financial aid directly benefit students," he said, "but something like the new Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex does as well. Even the money raised for faculty research will benefit our students."
To read the full story, visit: http://www.calvin.edu/news/2009-10/campaign/ .
