By Liz MacDonald

CSUMB’s first comprehensive campaign achieved resounding success, thanks to the generosity of our community. The university raised more than $100 million since the inception of the Vision 2020 campaign in 2015, far exceeding the initial $25 million goal. This enables CSUMB to pursue transformative change and benefit students, faculty and the region for years to come.

“We are humbled by the outpouring of support for our students, academic programs, and facility expansion, specifically during these difficult times,” said CSUMB President Eduardo M. Ochoa. “The contributions from our community prepare us well for success in our next 25 years, helping many students achieve their educational dreams.”

As a young, public university founded in 1994, CSUMB has always relied on friends and community members to provide a margin of excellence above and beyond the funding the university receives from the state.

This additional philanthropic funding allows the university to: welcome more students who wouldn’t otherwise have the means to attend; support students to timely graduation; create new academic programs aimed at meeting the region’s workforce needs; expand and enhance CSUMB facilities; attract and develop faculty members committed to ongoing scholarship as well as student success.

This campaign demonstrates both the remarkable generosity of our supporters as well as the power of authentic relationships. Unlike many large-scale fundraising efforts, the Vision 2020 campaign was done without external consultants aside from the initial feasibility study.

Instead, the president, deans, department heads, advancement officers and foundation board put in tremendous effort to listen and engage with donors. This intense and intentional collaboration yielded results that exceeded expectations — and accelerated CSUMB’s progress toward the goal of joining the front ranks of California’s great public universities.

Read more in the CSUMB Magazine.