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by Sami Antaki
One year after its public launch, the Campaign for a New Millennium has raised approximately 86 per cent of its $55-million goal. With nearly $47 million in pledges received by the Campaign office, the outlook for the next eight months is excellent.
"We're only just beginning to receive pledges from the prospects who were contacted this summer," said Don Taddeo, Campaign Executive Vice-Chair. "Our volunteers expended considerable effort this summer contacting many of our 300 prospects and following up on their presentations. Their hard work is now paying off for Concordia."
Members of the University's Engineering and Computer Science Faculty witnessed some of this hard work in action last week as Norman D. Hébert, president and CEO of Groupe Park Avenue, who has pledged $250,000 to support the Concordia Chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), brought several groups of automotive executives to Concordia.
Students and faculty members led tours of the SAE's work in alternative-fuel-powered vehicles, such as the FutureCar. It was an eye-opener for the manufacturers, who now are considering pledges of more than $100,000 each.
The Campaign's Alumni and Friends Division recently launched the phone-mail component of its strategy. Graduates of Sir George Williams University were sent a letter from Pierre Jeanniot (S Bsc 57, LL.D. 97), director-general of IATA, urging them to support their alma mater. These letters were followed up by phone calls from students.
Early results are excellent, with nearly $200,000 in donations pledged in two weeks. Many of these gifts were from graduates who had never supported the University before. Between now and Christmas, Loyola College and Concordia Arts and Science graduates will be solicited in the same way.
Among the major gifts received over the summer are an anonymous $1.2-million pledge to support undergraduate student aid; a $400,000 pledge from the Macdonald Stewart Foundation to support the University's libraries; and a $600,000 pledge from Bell Canada toward the new Software Engineering program.
