McPherson College has raised $10.5 million toward its Building Community Campaign, a comprehensive funding campaign that launched during Homecoming on October 12. The centerpiece of the $20 million campaign is a proposed new student center. Starting the campaign with more than 50 percent of the goal raised is unprecedented in the college’s campaign history.
As part of the campaign’s launch, the college also announced receiving an anonymous gift of $1 million to fund the community health care initiative, which the college introduced last month in partnership with the McPherson Hospital.
This most recent gift follows another $1 million gift given to the college’s automotive restoration program by Richard and Melanie Lundquist, Californian philanthropists. It was the largest single gift in the history of the program.
The Building Community Campaign focuses on three funding areas: $13 million for capital projects including a new student center and athletic development center, along with updates to residence halls, $3.5 million for restricted gifts, and $3.5 million for the annual fund.
“The steady enrollment growth trend over the past 20 years is a remarkable accomplishment for our college,” McPherson College President Michael Schneider said. “However, that growth requires us to focus on how we develop, maintain, and utilize campus facilities to sustain a growing and thriving community.”
Additional campaign milestones include progress toward the college’s long-term goal of building a $1 billion endowment and cultivating the next generation of support by adding 2,500 new donors.
“McPherson College has a legacy of giving that is unmatched by any of our Kansas colleagues,” President Schneider said. “The work done by our campus recently on our strategic plan, Community by Design, made it clear to us what needed to be done to meet the challenges of higher education. This campaign will help us achieve what we set out to do in that plan.”
The last comprehensive campaign, Power the Future, surpassed its $14 million goal in 2017 and was the third campaign completed since 2004, raising a total of $36 million.
Other gifts announced during the Building Community Campaign launch included:
- The Gerald J. Holman Tennis Courts funding for the expansion of the tennis facilities by adding three new courts. The new courts will allow the college to host men’s and women’s tennis competitions on campus.
- The Paul Family Football Field. A gift from the families of Brent and Steven Paul of Bakersfield, California, in support of students and athletics at McPherson College. The college announced the new name of the field during halftime of the Homecoming football game with a sign added to the scoreboard.
For information about the Building Community Campaign, go to www.mcpherson.edu/buildingcommunity.