DSU Concludes $20M Greater Than One Campaign

Delaware State University recently announced that its five-year Greater Than One (GTO) Campaign for Students exceeded its $20 million goal and successfully concluded four months ahead of schedule – making it the greatest fundraising campaign in the University’s 125-year history.

The University surpassed its objective by raising $20,370,762 during the five-year campaign that began in January 2011. Its conclusion was announced at the Sept. 22 DSU Board of Trustees meeting.

The GTO Campaign’s overarching purpose has been to raise funds to support the University's work in achieving its primary and constant goal of student success.

Toward that goal, the largest portion of the funds raised (nearly $9 million) will be used for scholarships and to strengthen DSU's endowment, which will provide scholarships to future students in perpetuity. There have already been 3,238 scholarships awarded during over the last five years with funds raised through the campaign.

At the close of the campaign, the University’s endowment had grown from $20.3 million in January 2011 to its current total of $27.2 million.

Beyond the scholarship dollars raised, portions of the $20 million campaign will also be used to support areas of student programming, faculty support and university support – all toward the goal of student success.

“The Greater Than One: Campaign for Students exceeded our expectations in the amount that was raised, the number of overall donors, the number of alumni participants and in the growth of the endowment,” said Dr. Vita Pickrum, vice president of DSU Institutional Advancement. “This campaign has built a strong foundation for future campaigns.”

DSU President Harry L. Williams said the campaign’s success is the result of the increasing “culture of giving” that is inclusive of all segments of the University community as well as supporters outside of the University.

“The tremendous support for this campaign reflects the giving of a great host of individuals, foundations,  and corporations who have chosen to help DSU achieve its long-term student success goals,” Dr. Williams said. “But then again, DSU could not do so without the help of its corporate partners, community friends, alumni as well as the University’s faculty and staff.”

Among the 6,488 donors who contributed to the campaign, highlights include:

• The $134,076 Jane Waters Bickham Endowed Scholarship for early childhood education majors was the largest alumni endowment given during the campaign.
• The upgrade of DSU’s STEM laboratories became a reality through $600,000 donated by the Good Samaritan Inc., the Welfare Foundation and the Marmot Foundation.
• The Longwood Foundation awarded DSU $2 million for Project Aspire, which funded scholarships and mentoring support to increase the University’s graduation rate.
• A $400,000 gift from the Verizon Foundation helps DSU focus on STEM, entrepreneurship, design thinking and mentoring.
• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded DSU a $1.2 million grant that supports the analytics involved in the assessment of the University’s innovative Individual Development Plan.
• A $50,000 grant from M&T Bank supports student scholarships.
• A grant of $200,000 from Barclays Bank led to the creation of a Mobile App Academy.
• A $700,000 grant from Delmarva Power will establish a Center for Renewable Energy.
• Alumni participation increased from 5% to more than 11% over the course of the campaign.