Capital fundraising campaign plans will be ready by July

Nearly a year after administrators announced plans to kick off the University’s largest fundraising campaign ever, officials hope to have initial designs ready for the new chancellor to take over by July.

Planning for the capital campaign — which originally aimed to raise more than a previous fundraising effort that brought in $2.38 billion — began in early 2012 but was postponed before this academic year started.

The campaign was then put on hold when former Vice Chancellor for University Advancement Matt Kupec resigned amid questions about his use of UNC foundation funds for personal travel use.

As the search for Kupec’s replacement continues, a capital campaign cabinet has been tasked with developing a fundraising strategy.

The cabinet, composed of faculty, staff and a group of volunteers associated with the University, met recently to discuss preliminary plans.

Roger Perry, volunteer chairman for the cabinet and former chairman of the UNC Board of Trustees, said the cabinet hasn’t made any specific plans or set a financial goal for the campaign.

Scott Ragland, UNC’s director of development communications, said in an email that the cabinet is tasked with creating a vision for the campaign and will develop its overarching themes as the fundraiser progresses.

The cabinet has requested planning reports from the deans of each school and college within the University.

The reports will contain projections for the future of each department and will be used to direct funding once the campaign beings.

“They’ll pretty much tell this committee what their priorities are and what their needs are and how much financial resources they need to see raised,” Perry said.

He added that the reports will be evaluated in July.

“We have five different areas where we’ll be raising money,” Perry said. “(The deans) are developing their priorities for their needs in terms of financial needs for faculty, for students, for programs, for research and for facilities.”

Wendy Gratz Borman, the assistant dean for external relations for the School of Education, said those five fundraising areas stand as the pillars of the campaign.

Perry said the campaign resumed planning after a push from Chancellor Holden Thorp and Julia Grumbles, interim vice chancellor for University advancement.

Perry said the cabinet is set to meet again in the spring to further develop the campaign’s plans.

He said the cabinet hopes to have the groundwork established before Thorp’s replacement is hired.

“By the time the new chancellor gets here in July, we’ll have a campaign strategy plan that will still be a work in progress but will give the new chancellor a running start on whatever his or her own vision is going to be for the new campaign,” Perry said.

“They’ll have flexibility to start the campaign and implement the campaign as they see fit.”

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