WMU HOME > ABOUT WMU > WMU NEWS Gifts to WMU approach record total July 2, 2004 KALAMAZOO--With one month remaining to be counted in its 2003-04 fiscal year, Western Michigan University has received more than $21 million in gifts, easily surpassing the $19.4 million raised during all of the previous fiscal year. According to a report presented to the WMU Board of Trustees at its June 30 meeting, the university received $21,780,545 in gifts between July 1, 2003, and May 31, 2004. The largest total received in a single fiscal year at WMU was $26,025,019 in 2002-03. "It does not appear that we are going to set a new record, but we will come close to matching the existing record," said Bud Bender, WMU vice president for development and executive director of the WMU Foundation. "The generosity and support of our alumni and friends has been a continuing source of encouragement as we navigate the difficult situation created by very large cuts in support from the state." All gifts to the University are received through the WMU Foundation or the Paper Technology Foundation, which supports the internationally known paper programs at WMU. For the 2003-04 fiscal year through May 31, the WMU Foundation reported current and deferred cash gifts totaling $15,918,912 and non-cash gifts valued at $4,914,815, for a total of $20,833,727. The Paper Technology Foundation reported cash gifts totaling $846,997 and non-cash gifts valued at $99,821, for a total of $946,818. Among the major gifts received since the previous report to the trustees March 26 were $44,000 from an anonymous donor for student teaching awards and a book fund in Waldo Library; $50,000 from Richard F. and Carolyn Curtis Chormann of Empire, Mich., for student scholarships; $10,000 from WMU professor Dr. Maija Petersons toward an endowed fund for internships in dietetics; and $10,000 from Betty J. Cinq-Mars of Kalamazoo as part of her continuing support of the Cinq-Mars scholarships in the Department of Finance and Commercial Law. Media contact: Thom Myers, 269 387-8400, thom.myers@wmich.edu WMU News Office of University Relations Western Michigan University 1903 W Michigan Ave Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433 USA 269 387-8400 www.wmich.edu/wmu/news