Oregon State University Foundation Explained

Oregon State University Foundation
Tax Id:93-6022772
Headquarters:Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.
Leader Title:President/CEO
Leader Name:https://www.fororegonstate.org/about/osu-foundation-and-alumni-association-leadership-team/senior-leadership-team/shawn-scoville Shawn L. Scoville
Key People:https://fororegonstate.org/about/volunteer-board-leadership/osu-foundation-board-of-trustees Penny Atkins, Chair of the Board of Trustees
Website:https://www.fororegonstate.org/ fororegonstate.org

The Oregon State University Foundation[1] is an American private nonprofit corporation associated with Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. The OSU Foundation is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees.[2]

History

In 1947, Robert M. Kerr, Edwin B. Aldrich and E. C. Sammons established the Oregon State College Foundation with the aid of OSC President A. L. Strand.[3] They saw the foundation as a means of creating opportunities that the college could not fulfill with state funds alone. That year they collected the OSC Foundation's first donation, a sum of five dollars. The OSC Foundation officially became the Oregon State University Foundation on November 14, 1962.

The university's endowment began with $20,000 in 1961. It took 16 years to reach its first $1 million in total receipts, and four more years to double that amount. Today the university's composite endowment totals more than $819 million,[4] with earnings distributed annually.

With university leaders, the OSU Foundation publicly launched Oregon State's first comprehensive fundraising campaign, The Campaign for OSU, on October 26, 2007, with a goal of $625 million.[5] Donors exceeded the original goal in October 2010, nearly a year ahead of schedule, and the goal was increased to $850 million. In March 2012 the goal was raised to $1 billion.[6] At OSU's annual State of the University address in Portland on January 31, 2014, President Edward J. Ray announced that campaign contributions had passed $1 billion, putting Oregon State with a group of 35 other public universities to cross the billion-dollar fundraising mark and one of only two organizations in the Pacific Northwest to reach the $1 billion campaign milestone.[7] The Campaign for OSU concluded on December 31, 2014, with more than $1.1 billion from 106,000 donors.[8]

The OSU Foundation and the OSU Alumni Association were integrated in 2017 to coordinate fundraising activities and alumni engagement in service to the university.[9]

On October 14, 2022, the OSU Foundation and university leaders publicly launched Oregon State’s second university-wide fundraising and engagement campaign, Believe It: The Campaign for Oregon State University. Since this campaign began in 2017, donors have committed more than $1 billion to support university priority initiatives toward the $1.75 billion goal.[10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Oregon State University Foundation Homepage . 2022-04-13 . fororegonstate.org . en.
  2. Web site: OSU Foundation Board of Trustees . 2022-04-13 . fororegonstate.org . en.
  3. Web site: Our History and Our Impact . 2022-04-13 . fororegonstate.org . en.
  4. Web site: Financial Information . 2022-04-13 . fororegonstate.org . en.
  5. Web site: 2009-07-06 . Oregon State University launches $625 million campaign, the first in OSU history . 2022-04-13 . oregonstate.edu . en.
  6. Web site: 2012-03-05 . Goal expanded to $1 billion for 'Campaign for OSU' . 2022-04-13 . oregonstate.edu . en.
  7. Web site: Oregon State University's fundraising passes $1 billion . Portland Business Journal . 2014-01-31.
  8. Web site: The Campaign for OSU . 2022-04-13 . fororegonstate.edu . en.
  9. Web site: Our History and Our Impact . 2022-04-13 . fororegonstate.edu . en.
  10. Web site: Oregon State University announces second campaign with $1 billion already given toward $1.75 billion goal .