ENDOWMENT AT $54.7 MILLION

Donations To SUNY Oneonta

Up 24 Percent In Single Year

ONEONTA  – In a report delivered to campus last week, SUNY Oneonta Vice President for College Advancement Paul J. Adamo announced that gifts and grants raised through the Division of College Advancement are on pace to exceed last year’s total by 24 percent.

The college raised more than $2.5 million through May 15 of the 2015 fiscal year. Commitments totaling over $3.1 million had been received through May 15 of this year. The 2016 fiscal year will close on June 30.

The donations helped raise the value of the college’s endowment to $54.7 million, the larget of the SUNY systems 13 comprehensive campuses.

“We are fortunate to have such a supportive community,” said President Nancy Kleniewski. “My thanks go to alumni, friends of the college both near and far, and corporate partners. Their contributions allow us to shape the SUNY Oneonta experience funding undergraduate research, sending students to present at conferences, and expanding scholarship offerings.”

Endowment and expendable giving also fund faculty development, internships, lectureships and the Milne Library. However, scholarships for students are the philanthropic priority of the college, according to Adamo.

“Charitable giving plays a critical role in containing the cost of attendance and minimizing our graduates’ debt,” Adamo said. “Those who give to SUNY Oneonta know that they are making a difference for a student because that is our foremost commitment.”

The college made more than 1,100 scholarship awards from charitable giving during the 2016-2017 academic year. Annual funding for scholarships and campus programs through SUNY Oneonta’s college foundation has increased by more than 400 percent over the past decade, from $649,000 in 2007 to nearly $2.7 million this year.