By Dixie Reid
A gift of 300 acres in unincorporated Placer County valued at $27.4 million boosted philanthropic giving to Sacramento State for fiscal year 2019-20 to a record $50,577,108.
“Every dollar invested in Sac State makes a transformative difference for our students, our campus, and even our region,” said Lisa Cardoza, vice president for University Advancement. “Achieving a record-breaking fundraising year speaks volumes about our community’s belief and investment in Sacramento State.”
The number of annual donors has increased by 33% percent since 2017, with approximately half of those donors making subsequent gifts.
The unprecedented level of support has allowed the University to increase its support for students as they cope with unprecedented challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Sac State’s graduates are a driving force in our communities. An investment in our students changes their lives and their future contributions to our region.”
Sac State this year raised more than $375,000 for student emergency funds, including Sac State CARES, the Seth Nelsen Student Emergency Fund, and Student Emergency Housing.
“That’s also a record amount, and it shows that we care during these difficult times,” Cardoza said.
In honor of George Floyd, the unarmed Black man killed by Minneapolis police officers in May, the University partnered with the Cooper-Woodson College Enhancement Program to establish an emergency grant in Floyd’s name. It received an initial $60,000 endowment.
Significantly, donations have allowed Sac State to increase student scholarships.
“In this COVID-19 year, we were able to provide our students a total $1,925,885 in scholarships,” University President Robert S. Nelsen announced during his 2020 Fall Address.
Students also benefit from gifts to the President’s Circle which, over the past two years, allowed Sac State to provide an additional $40,000 to house homeless students and $20,000 for the Associated Students, Inc. (ASI), Food Pantry.
“Sac State’s graduates are a driving force in our communities. An investment in our students changes their lives and their future contributions to our region,” said Tina Treis, chair of the University Foundation board.
The 300-acre property in Placer County was a gift from California philanthropist Eli Broad. It paves the way to establish the regional Sacramento State Placer Center, an academic site in the heart of the 2,200-acre master-planned Placer Ranch development.
The Placer Center initially could serve 500 students in one of California’s fastest-growing counties. If approved by the CSU Board of Trustees, the center someday could become could a full-fledged university.
The land value is the single largest donation in Sac State’s 73-year history. The Placer County Board of Supervisors and Broad’s development company will contribute the infrastructure needed to build the center.
Broad and his wife, Edythe, first made their mark on Sacramento State in 2005, when their foundation gave $2 million toward the athletics field house that bears their names.
Other major gifts to Sac State this fiscal year include a $1 million pledge from Western Health Advantage to support the Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s annual Global Entrepreneurship Week, Nov. 16-22.
An additional $2,896,156 came from donor bequests, with $3,681,026 promised to the University in the future.
Notable earlier contributions include $6 million in 2017 from Dale Carlsen ’84 (Business Administration) and his wife, Katy, to launch the Carlsen Center, and $9 million from businessman Ernest E. Tschannen in 2018 to help fund the cutting-edge Science Complex eventually named for him.
“There are many loyal Hornets out there,” Nelsen said.