Mizzou raises $8 million in one-day effort
In the midst of budget problems, the University of Missouri had an impressive day for donations.
“Mizzou Giving Day” wrapped up Thursday afternoon, collecting more than $8 million.
On Friday, ABC 17 News spoke with Todd McCubbin, one of the administrators responsible for putting it on, about how important donations are becoming.
His office building was built on an $11 million donation and as head of the Alumina Association, he tries to tap into people’s passions to give.
“It really wasn’t about how much you gave, it was about giving, and finding that passion somewhere on campus that you want to support,” said McCubbin.
He helped with MU’s first single-day donation campaign, “Mizzou Giving Day.” A combination of social media marketing and closing on large donations schools have worked on led to the $8 million raised for several schools and the donations may be more important now.
“There’s no doubt that state support is not what it used to be for higher education across higher education, no matter if you’re in Missouri or not. we saw a lot of people that want to see Mizzou continue to get better, and be better than they were before, and they made a gift to try and get us there.”
The campus is in the midst of finding $20 million to cut from this year’s budget due to state withholdings. For MU health, that means $3 million from its operating expense, which interim CEO Jonathan Curtright said he’s prepared to handle.
“We knew that there would be some needs at the campus level, as well as in the school of medicine, and it’s something we thought proactively about to save a little bit of money for a rainy day,” Curtright told ABC 17 News.
The hospital’s own revenues are well above projections for this fiscal year. A financial presentation done Friday afternoon shows more than $50 million in operating income, more than $30 million than it expected to have.
Schools across campus will need to find $17 million to push back. Donations, though, could help them spring on certain one-time purchases.
