The University of Georgia has met and surpassed an ambitious fundraising goal. The Commit to Georgia campaign kicked off in 2016 with a goal of raising $1.2 billion dollars. Kelly Kerner, Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations says they reached the milestone 16 months ahead of schedule.
“To me, what this is really about is what kind of impact can we have on the lives of students the University of Georgia and right now it’s pretty extraordinary,” according to Kerner.
Kerner says those funds are already making a difference.
“It’s funded over 80 new faculty positons, it has created over 700 new endowed scholarships, 370 new Georgia Commitment scholarships, which help our students who have the greatest financial need. It’s making a University of Georgia education possible for students that otherwise wouldn’t have that opportunity.”
He attributes the success to leadership.
“ We have a President [Jere Morehead] who has a fantastic vision, who articulates it well, who connects with the constituency of the university.”
Kerner is not planning on resting on his laurels, he says the campaign will continue through June 2020 as planned.
“We’ve got a foundation, doing some great things, but the foundation will give us the ability to propel forward and do even greater things. There is no slowing down, we’ll keep pressing on.”
Nearly 150,000 alumni, parents and friends have contributed to the campaign.
