“Your institution has not only demonstrated the highest levels of professionalism and best practice in its fundraising efforts, it has contributed to the betterment of educational advancement worldwide by serving as a model to which others can aspire,” wrote CASE president and CEO Sue Cunningham in the award letter.

DAUR, led by Vice President Roger A. Milici, Jr. since 2010, is responsible for all University fundraising; alumni relations; special events; and marketing and communications, including the publication of Fordham News.

While the award was granted this fiscal year, it is based on accomplishments from three previous years. The total amount raised during those fiscal years was $45.6 million in 2016, $75.8 million in 2017, and $49.5 million in 2018. Though not part of the analysis, Milici said the University closed this fiscal year at $67.1 million raised in gifts and pledges. It’s the pattern of growth in total support that helped Fordham garner notice from the judges, along with breadth and diversity of sources from which funds were raised.

For Milici, the win represents the evolution from a young and evolving advancement program to one that is on the cusp of becoming truly mature.

“It’s a point of pride in that it’s a total team win,” said Milici. “I think the recognition is especially poignant because it doesn’t talk about only the total number of gifts and pledges raised, but the continuity and systemic growth.”

The citation calls attention to the workings of a behind-the-scenes department that often deflects attention. But, Milici, along with Senior Executive Director of Development Robert Smith, pulled back the curtain to discuss vital strategies that brought about the award and keep the University competitive.

“None of this would be possible without receptive alumni and friends,” said Milici.

He noted that the pace and variety of campaigns must interest a range of donors on several levels, from fostering first-time donors in the Fordham Fund to continuing to pique the interests of large donors.

“It takes an evolving, mature operation to have that type of depth of prospects, so that you’re not just continuously returning to a small group of core donors to satisfy the campaign,” said Milici. “You’re constantly refreshing that pool so that even as the campaign ends, you interest newer donors.”

Milici said development must provide “a menu” of opportunities to give and it should be one “that elicits emotion and provides resonance.” But ultimately, he said, people give to trusted leadership, from the president to the provost to the faculty and staff and coaches. That trust is based in part on an assurance that the monies given will be used as the donors intended.

“We are trying to build long-term relationships, I like to call them ‘mission partners,’ whereas Father McShane [Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham] calls them ‘colleagues in ministry,’” said Milici. “The point is the same: these are people who believe in what the University stands for that they are in full partnership with us.”

Milici said he embraced the challenge of reaching out to Fordham’s diverse community, which includes three undergraduate colleges and graduate schools that range from law to social service. He said that while fundraisers may appeal to each of these groups in different ways, “the University mission arches over everything.”

The CASE award, he said, is something donors can feel good about.

“To be acknowledged by the industry is important and something that we should all take pride in. I think the message to our donors is that we are a well-run program,” he said.

Keeping the division operating at high performance levels falls to a variety of teams that includes research, which helps the university better understand donors and their interests, as well as Advancement Services and Advancement Technologies, said Smith.

“Part of our job is to make sure mutual understanding between the University and the donor are clear, what their expectations are of us, and vice-versa,” he said.

“I think the award also speaks to how donors come to trust what it is that we’re going to do as an institution with the gifts that they have given to us,” he said. “Over the years, we have strived to clearly lay out what those expectations are.”

It’s in that spirit of intent that gift agreements must be carefully worded, he said. And they must be forward-thinking.

“We not only need to understand what we are going to be doing in 2019, but what our successors are going to be doing in 20, 30, 100 years from now,” he said. “When we are setting up an endowed scholarship, we have to think about how funds generating income in perpetuity are going to be used 10 years, 50 years, or even 100 years.”

“We have to think about making sure that we can, in the future, follow the donor’s intent,” he said.

He added that Fordham fundraising is a far cry from its past.

“Before Father McShane started, it was a very, very well-defined group of donors with whom Fordham tended to continually engage,” he said. “With Father McShane, we really began a much more concerted and sophisticated effort to reach out to many more alums that previously had not had any contact with the University in any way—not through communications or alumni relations, let alone philanthropy. Today, we have built a community of mission investors that includes students, their parents, alumni, and friends.”

The University has raised $75.9 million in funds—7 percent more than the previous record set eight years ago, and $30 million more than the amount raised in 2016.

“We are deeply grateful to the members of the Fordham family who have given, and given so generously,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. “Their support—financial and otherwise—speaks to the importance of Fordham’s sacred mission, and to the enduring value of a Fordham education. Though we can number the gifts, their impact on a new generation of Fordham students is beyond price.”

Making a Fordham Education Accessible

Among the major gifts that helped to drive the University fundraising achievement was a $10.5 million gift to support science education from the estate of the late Stephen (Steve) Bepler, FCRH ’64, and a $20 million gift to the University from Maurice J. (Mo) Cunniffe, FCRH ’54, and Carolyn Dursi Cunniffe, Ph.D., GSAS ’71. The Cunniffes made the second-largest gift in Fordham’s history when they established the Maurice and Carolyn Cunniffe Presidential Scholars Program to support the studies of high-performing students.

“Our generous donors are people who are passionate about Fordham and are motivated to invest in our mission,” said Roger A. Milici Jr., vice president of development and university relations. “These gifts are meant to ensure that a Fordham education is within reach for first generation students and students of all economic backgrounds.”

As the University has prioritized making a Fordham education accessible for students of every class, race, and faith, it is grateful that $48 million of the $75.9 million raised in FY 2017 was allocated by donors to support financial aid. This brings the Faith & Hope | The Campaign for Financial Aid, which was announced during Fordham’s 175th anniversary, to $107 million.

Milici said the University has made fundraising strides across the board that have contributed to its unprecedented fundraising year.

“We have an increasingly talented and driven advancement team—staff and volunteers—working together to create these types of successes,” he said.

Law and Cybersecurity

Among the University wide successes was the Fordham Law School’s fundraising, which topped its FY 2017 goal of $12.5 million, driving its Faith & Hope | The Campaign for Financial Aid total to $21.4 million. Fordham’s Center on National Security also received a $1.7 million gift from Trustee Fellow Vincent J. Viola and the Viola Family Foundation. That gift will support the work of the center’s director, Karen J. Greenberg, Ph.D., and other research staff, as well as the Terrorism Trials Database, a data and analysis project focused on terrorism prosecutions.

This important gift comes as Fordham was recently designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CDE) by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

Another fundraising advance included the Fordham Fund, which raised $5.1 million and set a new record for unrestricted and school annual funds. What’s more, the 16th Annual Fordham Founder’s Award Dinner, raised $2.4 million—the second largest amount in the dinner’s history.

Support for Capital Projects

With the added emphasis of raising funds to support two important capital projects that will give the University a competitive edge in student-athlete recruitment and improve the Rose Hill Gym fan experience—namely the McLaughlin Family Basketball Court at the Rose Hill campus, and the new football office projects—athletic fundraising had a 42 percent increase from FY 2016.

Fordham parents also played an integral part in helping the University reach its fundraising goals. Parent giving more than doubled, going from $1 million from 2,348 parents the last fiscal year to $2.7 million from 2,699 parents this year.

The spirit of giving was further exemplified in Fordham’s inaugural Giving Day, where the University exceeded its goal of 1,750 donors in 24 hours with gifts from 2,101 donors from across the United States and around the world.

“Fundamentally, Fordham alumni appreciate the rigorous Jesuit education and overall experience they had on campus, and if given the opportunity (and we do a good job of earning their trust), I believe alumni will invest in that promise so that others can have similar experiences and follow in that long maroon line,” said Milici.