Faculty and staff donors are giving 'close to home'

Of the tens of thousands of donors who support the University of Connecticut each year, few have a more personal connection to the University than the faculty and staff who work for and at UConn every day.

The UConn Foundation would like to recognize the more than 1,600 faculty and staff who generously donated a total of $745,000 during the past year to support a variety of academic, research, and cultural programs, including those at the UConn Health Center, the School of Law, and the regional campuses.

The total represents a 15 percent increase over 2006. Since the first ‘Close To Home’ Campaign was launched in 2004, annual gifts from faculty and staff have risen 23 percent.

The focus of the faculty/staff campaign is primarily on unrestricted gifts, which provide the most immediate and effective sources of funding to address critical and time-sensitive needs at the University.

During the past year, such contributions have benefited undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, study abroad programs, internships, guest speakers, First Year and Senior Year Experience programs, advanced laboratories, and modern classrooms, to name a few.

The Close To Home Campaign also accomplishes another key objective: It demonstrates to others outside the University community and across the state that those employed at the University feel strongly enough about the importance of their work to personally invest in its successful outcomes.

That is an endorsement that captures the attention of other potential donors, as well as the leadership of the state.

The 2008 Close to Home Campaign was launched recently, with ambitious goals for dollars to be raised and rates of faculty and staff participation.

There has never been a better time to show your support for UConn.