Endowing the Future

Endowing the Future. University of Southern California. , When Orro Childs, John G. Downey and Isaias Hellman deeded 308 lots to the trustees of the University of Southern California in 1879, they were not only providing a new campus and a source of funding for the new institution; they were laying the foundation for a strong partnership between the university and the community that endures today. , Because USC began as a Methodist institution, its early support was largely the responsibility of the church, which regularly asked its ministers to solicit contributions from their congregations. The arrangement effectively restricted the pool of potential donors to church members and limited revenues , one of the major reasons why Rufus B. von KleinSmid, USC's fifth president, was eager to secularize the university. Von KleinSmid achieved his objective in 1928, and immediately USC broadened its fundraising base. , Non-Methodist donors like Edward L. Dobeny came forward to make major gifts to the university. Alumni giving also escalated, thanks to the General Alumni Association, which had been formed in 1923. Had the Great Depression not hit, the Semicentennial Celebration Campaign, which sought to raise $10 million to commemorate USC's fiftieth anniversary, undoubtedly would have been more successful. , Under President Fred Fagg, who succeeded Von KleinSmid, USC launched another campaign, this time to celebrate the university's Diamond Jubilee in 1955. The Century Plan had a goal of $75 million, but the effort never gained enough momentum to succeed. , When Norman Topping became president in 1958, however, the combination of a clear vision and ideal circumstances completely changed the course of fundraising at USC. Topping created a commission to study ways to achieve excellence in teaching and scholarship at the university. The result was the Master Plan for Enterprise and Excellence in Education, announced in 1961 with a goal of raising $106 million in 20 years. It was one of the largest campaigns ever in higher education and had the highest fundraising goal ever set in California. Its initial success led the Ford Foundation to make a challenge grant of 16.5 million, which the university was to match three to one within three years. Instead, USC raised the requisite $19.5 million in only 15 months and matched a second, larger Ford Foundation grant in 19 months. The Master Plan attained its goal, plus $2 million, in just five years, making it possible for the university to complete 45 buildings, quadruple the endowment and triple research expenditures. Most significantly, the Master Plan helped USC gain the stature necessary for election to the prestigious Association of American Universities. , Emboldened by the success of the Master Plan, USC embarked on a series of progressively ambitious campaigns. In 1976, President Jack Hubbard announced Toward Century II, which sought to raise $265 million in time for USC's centennial in 1980. The university not only surpassed the goal two months early, it raised nearly $310 million. Ten major buildings were constructed, more than 50 endowed chairs were established, and over $16 million was raised for student aid. The Campaign for USC, announced by President James Zumberge, generated $641 million between 1984 and 1990, including $188 million for endowment. More than a dozen major new buildings were funded or completed. In 1995, President Steven Sample announced the $1 billion Building on Excellence campaign, during which the university recorded its biggest fundraising year ever and received the largest cash gift in the history of higher education: $120 million from Ambassador Walter Annenberg. For the first time, the university's endowment exceeded $1 billion. , With over 100 years of success directly traceable to private philanthropy, USC clearly owes its very existence to its benefactors, large and small. Their generous investments have sustained it through hard times and nurtured its growth and will continue to assure its maturation.