Ball State launches $350 million fundraising campaign

Star Press
·3 min read

MUNCIE, Ind. — Ball State University has launched "Our Call to Beneficence," the "most ambitious comprehensive fundraising campaign in the university’s history," according to a press release.

"Fueled by the generous support of graduates and benefactors," the campaign focuses on "student opportunity and success, the academic experience and campus and community impact."

Beneficence is a bronze statue that has been on the campus of Ball State University since 1937.
Beneficence is a bronze statue that has been on the campus of Ball State University since 1937.

“Founded more than a century ago on the generosity of donors, Ball State University thrives on a mission inspired by a commitment to doing good,” Renae Conley, chair of Ball State’s Board of Trustees, said in the release. “The university is defined by the enduring values represented by Beneficence. We have launched this campaign to accelerate our progress and enhance our impact.”

Ball State entered the public phase of the “Our Call to Beneficence” campaign on Friday having already raised more than $225 million, the release said.

The campaign is named after the Ball State statue "Beneficence," which was dedicated in 1937 and serves as a campus landmark.

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“At Ball State University, gratitude is more than a verbal expression of appreciation," Ball State President Geoffrey S. Mearns said. "Gratitude requires us to demonstrate our appreciation through our actions.

“In the spirit of gratitude, I ask our graduates and benefactors to envision the extraordinary impact that their generous philanthropy can have on the lives of our students, our neighbors, and our friends for generations to come.”

According to the release, money raised through “Our Call to Beneficence” will provide funding for:

  • Scholarships; financial resources for student retention, persistence, and completion; mentoring programs; student success initiatives; a renovation and redesign of Bracken Library and support for Ball State’s student-athletes.

  • Expansion of Immersive Learning opportunities; providing more transformative internships and study abroad programs; expanding access to undergraduate research opportunities; providing more faculty support in the form of fellowships, professorships, master teacher awards, and micro-grants; and expanding Ball State’s college and center initiatives, as well as deans’ innovation and excellence funds.

  • Construction of a new performing arts center near The Village, the retail-residential district immediately adjacent to campus; enhancements to Ball State’s academic facilities, including expansion and renovation of the Architecture Building, Whitinger Business Building, Ball Honors House and David Owsley Museum of Art; adding amenities to the new East Mall pathway, and continued support of the University’s partnership to transform Muncie Community Schools into a national model for innovative education.

Detailed fundraising goals and plans — including the specific plans of colleges and other academic and support units at Ball State — can be found on the “Our Call to Beneficence” website.

“‘Our Call to Beneficence’ is an unprecedented campaign that will support specific, vital projects in every corner of our institution,” said Jean Crosby, president of the Ball State University Foundation/Alumni Association and vice president for university advancement.

The release said commitments to “Our Call to Beneficence” can be made in several forms, including outright gifts, multi-year pledges, planned gifts, matching gifts, endowments, and naming opportunities.

Flexible donation options include online payments, gifts by mail, monthly installments, a bequest or charitable trust, employer-matched gifts and stock transfers.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ball State launches $350 million fundraising campaign