Cash donations ‘running the same’ for 2009-10 fiscal year

300 dpi Anita Langemach color illustration of one-hundred-dollar bill with Benjamin Franklin wearing baseball cap and blowing whistle. The Gazette (Colorado Springs) 2009<p>
 
 
 
 club coaches illustration benjamin franklin coach referee whistle blower money hundred dollar bill; krtussports; u.s. us united states; consultants; krtbusiness business; krtfinancialservice financial services; krtnamer north america; krtusbusiness; krtnational national; krtsports sports; krt; mctillustration; FIN; SPO; 04000000; 04006003; 15000000; 2009; krt2009 gt contributor coddington langemach mct2009 mct

300 dpi Anita Langemach color illustration of one-hundred-dollar bill with Benjamin Franklin wearing baseball cap and blowing whistle. The Gazette (Colorado Springs) 2009<p> club coaches illustration benjamin franklin coach referee whistle blower money hundred dollar bill; krtussports; u.s. us united states; consultants; krtbusiness business; krtfinancialservice financial services; krtnamer north america; krtusbusiness; krtnational national; krtsports sports; krt; mctillustration; FIN; SPO; 04000000; 04006003; 15000000; 2009; krt2009 gt contributor coddington langemach mct2009 mct

With higher education funding in the spotlight for the next two-year Kentucky state budget, some may wonder how universities are currently doing in some areas of fundraising. 

The fiscal year goes from July 1 to June 30, and about seven months have passed for the 2009-10 fiscal year. By Feb. 28 last year, UK had received about $46 million in cash donations, and as of Feb. 28, 2010, UK had received about $42 million in cash donations, according to the gift activity report provided by the Office of Development.

During the 2008-09 fiscal year, UK received a record amount of cash donations, which was about 18 percent higher than the previous fiscal year’s approximate $57 million, said Mike Richey, vice president and chief development officer for the Office of Development.

Richey said one factor to take into account when looking at the difference between the last two fiscal years is the $2.8 million estate gift that Felix E. Martin left to UK last year, which accounts for some of the difference.

“We’re basically running the same,” he said. “ … so when you’re talking about how you’re doing, sometimes you’ll get a big gift, and there’s no way that universities are going to be able to come back every year and say, ‘well we’re going to get this big gift.’”

The total amount of pledges expected for the 2009-10 fiscal year is about $62 million, according to the gift activity report, but Richey said variables to take into consideration when looking at these numbers include new expectancies and new pledges.

“That includes new pledges, you know where somebody has gone out and they want to create a scholarship … of, let’s say $100,000, and they say, ‘I’m going to give you $20,000 a year to fund this $100,000 scholarship,’ so that’s counted as a new pledge,” Richey said.

Richey also said the capital campaign that UK ran until 2007 caused amounts soon after to be higher than normal, because the campaign caused some people to give three- to five-year pledges. The next capital campaign will be when UK turns 150 years old in 2015, he said.