Carleton has officially launched its Collaborate campaign during an event on Nov. 5 in the River Building. The campaign seeks to raise $300 million by the university’s 75th anniversary in 2017.
The event was held to allow prospective donors and members of the community to learn more about the kinds of projects and initiatives that would be funded, as well as put them in closer contact with faculty and students.
Past donors were invited, as well as volunteers, alumni, advisory boards, faculty, and students.
Ryan Davies, Carleton’s director of advancement communications, said the event is designed to show off everything Carleton has to offer.
“It’s an event to bring our community together and to showcase the best of Carleton and to showcase what an investment can do and the good it can do in the world,” Davies said.
Carleton president Roseann Runte said external funding like donations is very important to the university, especially because costs have gone up, while government support has remained the same.
Runte added Carleton’s donations come from a variety of sources.
“Alumni are very generous but we’ve had many gifts from a larger community. People who actually never even went to Carleton or never even visited the campus have made donations to the university,” Runte said.
She said because Carleton is a relatively young university, it relies more on donations from the community than an older university would, because Carleton has fewer alumni.
The campaign had already raised $176 million before it was officially launched to the public on Nov. 5, partly through Carleton’s crowdsourcing website, FutureFunder, as well as through individuals, corporate donors, and alumni.
The event itself had tables from a variety of groups, including the different faculties on campus, the library, student affairs, as well as students and researchers.
Davies said investing in the university is in some ways also investing in the world at large because Carleton’s projects will go on to impact the world around them.
Davies also highlighted the importance of FutureFunder to the university’s fundraising efforts.
“We at Carleton have pioneered the use of crowdfunding in university fundraising,” he said.
Michael Mackay Mclaren, a Carleton student who works at the library as the 3D printer maintenance assistant, tabled at the event for a new 3D printer for the library.
Mclaren said the library is seeking $3,000 through FutureFunder to build the printer from scratch, as buying one new would cost at least $80,000.
He added the printer will be built by first-year students and guided by him for students and faculty.
Mclaren said the addition of another 3D printer would make it more accessible to regular students.
“Regular students can achieve more and stretch out what they can achieve with their imagination instead of just what they can do with their tools,” he said.
For now, Runte said she hopes the event’s attendees will see Carleton’s potential.
“The university is alive and well,” she said. “There’s a lot of different subjects and students that can be helped,” she said.
