One year after the public launch of the Victors for Michigan campaign, donors have made gifts and pledges totaling $2.49 billion through Nov. 30.

The campaign added another $3.2 million from 5,437 donors who made contributions during the 24-hours of Tuesday’s Giving Blueday, as the campaign continues to build momentum, reports Jerry May, vice president for development.

May, the university’s chief fundraising officer, says he has been “blown away” by the response from donors of all types. Gifts have come from foundations, corporations, bequests, but by far the largest amount comes from individuals who have given 78 percent of all gifts so far.

May says he is especially pleased that donors have committed $431 million to student support, designated as the No. 1 priority of the campaign, with a $1 billion goal.

The 2014 fiscal year, which ended June 30, was the most successful fundraising period in the history of the university. Donors made cash payments, gifts, pledges and bequest intentions totaling nearly $950 million, exceeding all-time annual fundraising by 54 percent.

The university had several powerful leadership gifts leading up to the November 2013 launch of the campaign.

There was the Stephen Ross gift of $200 million for the Stephen M. Ross School of Business and to Athletics; the Charles Munger gift of $110 million for a new graduate housing “community of scholars” and fellowships; the Richard and Susan Rogel gift of $50 million to support medical education and Chinese studies; and the Helen Zell gift of $50 million for creative writing.

Just as impressive, May says, is the fact that of the campaign’s 215,000 donors, 85 percent have made gifts of $1,000 or less. “It is that type of broad-based support that is so important to the success of this campaign.”

The campaign has three broad priorities:

Student support: Providing the financial support so every student accepted by the university can afford to attend, so the university can attract students who can compete at the highest levels, and so every student can have an outstanding student experience.

Engaged learning: To provide a global purview and to encourage a creative, entrepreneurial mindset through experiential learning in and out of the classroom.

Bold ideas: To follow through on the university’s commitment, as a public university, to collaborate on bold ideas to address the world’s most challenging problems.

May shared a few other markers for the campaign:

• By the time the campaign wraps up, May predicts that more than 90 percent of the money raised will go toward academic priorities.

• So far, 71 people have given gifts of at least $1 million toward the highest campaign priority of student support.

• At kickoff the campaign had 890 campaign volunteers in the schools and unit committees. Today there are 1,275 volunteers.

• The university has 38 fundraising units working on the overall campaign.

• At kickoff, the campaign leadership board had 35 members; today it has 46 and each of those individuals has made a campaign commitment of $5 million or more.

• In the Michigan Difference campaign, faculty, staff and retirees gave $164 million.  It is anticipated that university employees will again give to this campaign as it moves forward. 

• Students are engaged in this campaign as never before as advocates and donors, having given more than $1 million at the time of campaign kickoff.

• Giving Blueday included participation by academic units from the Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint campuses as well as 70 student organizations.

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• Victors for Michigan