After the completion of a highly successful fundraising campaign spanning from January 2012 to December 2016, administration is already discussing plans for the next five years.
Administration currently remains in the preparatory phase of their new campaign. While administration will not announce the campaign to the public for another two or three years, there still remains plenty going on behind the scenes. During this time, administration will test the limits of their donor base and make preparations according to their findings. The Board of Trustees will suggest a new cinema and media arts building and further funds for scholarships to their donors as well as receive recommendations for what the next campaign will include in September.
LAYING THE GROUNDWORK
After achieving $214 million dollars from the last campaign effort, $34 million over the estimated goal, administration is reaching out to their donor base in order to accurately gauge its future capacity to provide funds due to potential depletion from the previous campaign.
“What we’ll do in the next campaign is we’ll spend two or three years in the quiet phase interacting with a handful of families and foundations, and then we’ll evaluate and adjust the goal up or down,” said Adam Morris, vice president of university advancement.
After setting a goal, administration must acquire approximately 60 to 70 percent of the total amount before going public in order to avoid a PR scandal, according to Morris. This way, if the donors cannot reach the projected goal it does not reflect poorly on the funding process.
“90 percent of the money that you raise comes from 10 percent of the people,” Morris said.
The donor base primarily consists of alumni, parents of current students and the Board of Trustees operating on a worldwide scope.
PROJECT EVALUATION
In addition to talking with the donors, administration is working on prioritizing the list of projects as well as discussing a potential overarching theme.
“We do know in the next campaign, that a new building for film is on the docket,” Morris said. “I’m sure that scholarships will also be part of the next campaign as well, we just have an ongoing commitment to help address issues of affordability for our students.”
The film building will cost between $60 to $65 million, whereas the amount going to scholarships awaits determination. The goal for the last campaign stood at $85 million for scholarships, yet this number might fluctuate depending on the results from testing the capacity of the donor community.
Freshman English major Juliana Fujii believes supporting scholarships should remain an important goal for administration since it allows students to attend Biola.
“I appreciate that Biola is trying to raise funds to help more people to come here because I think it’s a great place to be. Without the scholarships that I received, I probably wouldn’t be here,” Fujii said.
Freshman business major Jennika Davila believes the construction of a CMA building will prove a worthwhile investment.
“I think it’s awesome, like with the new science center, I see that [the film building] needs an upgrade. Our cinema and media arts facilities are older and I think they deserve a new building,” Davila said.
