California State University, Sonoma

Contribution Highlights

• Due to new annual fund efforts and increased development officer activity, there was a 56 percent increase in donor participation over the previous year.
• Philanthropists Joan and Sandy Weill challenged the community to raise $4 million with a one-to-one match as part of their overall $12 million commitment. The $4 million dollar ‘Weill Match’ was met. 201 donors from the local community contributed to the match including a new gift of $1 million from a community member.
• Seven new testamentary commitments were made to SSU totaling $2,484,500. Realized testamentary commitments equaled $3,781,239.
• For the second year in a row, an outstanding graduate of Sonoma State University was selected to be showcased as part of the CSU -wide “Working for California” project: This year, Hoji Alimi, BA Biology, ’95 and Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Oculus Innovative Sciences, Inc., was featured.
• The Fund for Sonoma State continued to grow in terms of dollars raised and participation. The mail campaign dollars raised increased by 18 percent and donors increased by 25 percent. The Fund for Sonoma State is the annual giving program for the university. Typically, the first gift an alumnus will ever make will be to this program.
• The Wolf Bucks for Books program was created in collaboration with the scholarship, financial aid and student affairs offices. This new and innovative annual giving program assists students in financial need with resources to buy essential items such as textbooks or lab supplies before a student’s financial aid arrives.

Printer-Friendly Version (.pdf)