The Ohio State University Foundation Board of Directors
The Ohio State University enjoys a robust history of private support from its alumni and friends. The fundraising results of the past two decades, combined with an understanding of the environment in which those results were achieved, provide the context and background from which the current operation, staffing model, strategic direction, and opportunities flow.
The first focused campaign at Ohio State raised approximately $1 million to help build Ohio Stadium, which was dedicated in 1922. Fundraising was institutionalized 15 years later when the Board of Trustees created the Development Fund. In the fund’s first full year, more than 3,300 donors gave the university almost $82,000.
In 1985, The Ohio State University Foundation was incorporated and became the university’s primary fundraising and gift-receiving organization. That same year, Ohio State also announced its first major comprehensive campaign, with a goal of $350 million. The campaign successfully closed in 1990 with gifts and pledges over $460 million.
In 1995, the university publicly launched its second major fundraising campaign with a goal of $850 million. Named “Affirm Thy Friendship” from a line in the alma mater, "Carmen Ohio," the campaign goal was later raised to $1 billion. When the campaign ended in 2000, the university had raised $1.23 billion, making Ohio State one of only five public universities at that time to have exceeded the billion-dollar mark.
Total gift receipts raised during “Affirm Thy Frienship” exceeded all gifts received during the previous 123 years of the university’s existence.
Given the rising cost of academic excellence and the precipitous decline in state support of college and university budgets, private support will be critical to higher education in the 21st century. Ohio State is no exception, as the state now provides less than 14 percent of its annual budget. Ohio State’s Foundation Board of Directors will be asked to play an increasingly important role in helping to shape the future of the institution.
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