Welcome to Fundraising Friday, AB Today's weekly digest of recent developments in development.
Penn State University's Board of Trustees voted 22-8 Monday to accept a $50 million gift from West Shore Home and its CEO B.J. Werzyn, a 1999 Penn State graduate, to name the playing field at Beaver Stadium. Beginning this year and covering 15 years total, the name will be West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium. As reported by StateCollege.com, the donation will be the second-largest cash gift in Penn State history, and is set to contribute significantly to the $700 million revitalization project of Beaver Stadium. With the gift, Penn State has achieved 97.5% of the $134 million philanthropic goal for the project set last May.
Vanderbilt University announced Wednesday a $1.5 million matching gift from Mark H. Carter to support Commodore men’s basketball NIL initiatives. Carter will match all gifts and pledges up to $1.5 million in support of the men's basketball NIL efforts of Anchor Impact, the official collective of Vanderbilt Athletics.
Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has announced a $2.1 million lead gift from the Lavern T. and Audrey Busse Foundation, including a $1.5 million matching challenge, to support the construction of the Busse Football Center, a new state-of-the-art facility that will serve Mount Mercy’s new football program. As reported by Corridor Business Journal, the Busse Football Center will feature essential amenities, including locker rooms, a weight room, team meeting spaces, coaches’ offices and a training room, with naming opportunities available.
Total amount of these gifts:
$53,600,000
Running total for 2025:
$264,823,500
Total amount tracked by AB Today in 2024:
$943,830,339
