News and Progress

Donors' annual gifts add up to more than $1 million each year to support Mizzou

Annualgifts add up to create big benefits for MU.

Jan. 24, 2005

When it comes to philanthropy, consistency counts. Each year, thousands of Mizzou supporters make annual contributions to the University. Some give $25 each year; some give $10,000. All contribute to a steady stream of support for the University.

“The great benefit of annual giving is that it typically supports unrestricted funds for the campus,” says Laura Lucas, manager of annual giving. “These funds meet the immediate needs of the University — not in the sense that they are paying the electric bills but that they provide resources to meet unexpected needs or to make the most of certain programs and events that enhance the educational experience here.”

Donors choose to give annually for different reasons. For young alumni working to establish their careers, annual giving is a way to support their alma mater on a limited budget. For alumni couples who come from different degree programs, annual gifts to schools and colleges allow both husband and wife to support personal interests.

“For a long time, when we were first starting out, giving each year was the only way we could support the University,” says Gary A. Dyer, MD '66, a dermatologist in St. Joseph, Mo. He and his wife, Eileen, BSN '68, a registered nurse, have given annually to support the School of Medicine's dermatology department, the Sinclair School of Nursing, the Residence on Francis Quadrangle, the MU Libraries and the Chancellor's Fund for Excellence.

“There are just so many programs that we feel are valuable,” Eileen says. “Giving annually is a good way for us to support and show our interest in several different areas.”

For donors who have given major gifts to Mizzou for specific purposes, annual giving represents an ongoing commitment to broader University needs.

H. Bailey Gallison, BA '48, retired executive director of Community Campership Council Inc., and his wife, Sharilyn, MS '70, a marketing executive, previously established a scholarship in the College of Human Environmental Sciences. The Gallisons, who live in La Jolla, Calif., also give annually to the Chancellor's Fund for Excellence. Endowed and expendable gifts to the fund provide unrestricted resources for academic priorities, including seed money for new programs and funds to help retain and reward excellent faculty members. “Now that my husband is retired, we're less likely to be in a position to give a very large gift,” Sharilyn says. “But we'd still like to do what we can.”

In fiscal year 2003, the principal in the Chancellor's Fund for Excellence endowment reached nearly $600,000. That same year, donors pledged more than $3 million to the fund through bequests and named endowments. In March, the first gift from the fund directed $30,000 to support the Discovery Fellows program in the MU Honors College. The program gives honors-eligible first-semester freshmen with a composite act score of at least 33 a chance to work directly with faculty mentors on research or scholarly projects.

The primary vehicle for annual giving to the University is the Mizzou Annual Fund, which raised more than $1 million in fiscal year 2003. Lucas says the fund's goal is to reach all Mizzou alumni each year by mail, e-mail or phone calls, which are made by student employees. Staff members use focused campaigns to encourage support for specific priorities, such as individual schools and colleges, facilities, scholarships, student activities and more. This way, even though funds are unrestricted, donors know their gifts will be directed toward areas that are important to them.

“It's a matter of trust in the people at the University,” Sharilyn Gallison says. “We know that our gifts will be used for things that might not be covered otherwise, and we'd like to do this as long as we are able.”

For more information, contact the Mizzou Annual Fund at (573) 882-2136.