Welcome to Fundraising Friday, AB Today's weekly digest of recent developments in development.
A planned gift from a longtime economic development and marketing professional and his spouse has pushed Western Carolina University’s “Fill the Western Sky” comprehensive fundraising campaign past its minimum goal of $100 million in philanthropic support. Rich Price, chief marketing and strategic partnerships officer at WCU, and wife Susan recently updated their estate plans to direct $1.25 million toward support for the Catamount athletics program. According to university's Tuesday announcement, Price has been a Catamount Club member for more than 30 years.
The University of Alabama Birmingham athletics department announced Monday that Robins & Morton, one of the largest general contractors in the region, has helped continue momentum of the Bartow Arena renovation with a $250,000 commitment towards the project. Earlier this month, the athletic department announced that Ursula and Mike Kemp had made a $100,000 commitment toward the project. The $14.6 million Bartow Arena renovation project is intended to feature an entrance lobby expansion, club-level lounge and club-level seating, replacement of lower bowl retractable seating to elevate fan experience, and concourse improvements including lighting and updated restrooms.
University of Miami Athletics announced Oct. 17 that Allan Soto, who received a Master's degree from Miami this year, has made a $1.35 million donation. Soto’s gift includes $1 million allotted to the Victory Fund and $325,000 to the Hurricane Club. Miami’s newly launched Victory Fund provides the resources necessary to recruit and retain an elite roster of student-athletes across all major sports.
A $500,000 gift from Joan and James Skesavage is the first donation to the Loyola Athletics Difference Makers Fund, an initiative designed to help Loyola University Maryland attract and retain top-tier student-athletes. According to its Oct. 15 announcement, the university has set an initial goal of raising $2.5 million for the fund.
Total amount of these gifts:
$3,450,000
Running total for 2025:
$1,162,018,500
Total amount tracked by AB Today in 2024:
$943,830,339
