By Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter

University of Lethbridge launches SHINE fundraising campaign

Sep 20, 2018 | 2:33 PM

LETHBRIDGE – Dr. Mike Mahon says it’s the most ambitious fundraising campaign in the U of L’s 51-year history.

As faculty and staff welcomed back thousands of students with a free barbeque Thursday afternoon, the U of L President and Vice-Chancellor, along with Chancellor Janice Varzari, Alumni Association President Michael Gabriel and others, launched the $100 million SHINE campaign.

While $67-million dollars has already been raised through 31,000 gifts from nearly 9,000 donors around the world, Mahon says they would like to bring in another $33-million to help support both faculty and students.

“Of course, we do receive government funding, and that goes to creating the resources for the operation of the university both in terms of turning the lights on every day, but also paying our faculty and staff. But many things that we do are not supported by government.”

He says those things include much of the research that’s done at the institution, many of the scholarships and bursaries that are awarded to students, and other initiatives like the student food bank.

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While there’s no timeline to raise the tens of millions they’re hoping for, Mahon does hope it comes sooner rather than later.

“I would say, we hope within a few years to reach the final goal of $100 million.”

Most of the money that so far has been raised, is earmarked or being used for things like the Destination Project – the new science and academic building currently under construction –  which they need $20 million dollars to complete.

“When we received funding from the province for the Destination Project, they provided us with $260 million. The project is a $280 million project, so we have to raise $20 million minimally just for the Destination Project.”

Another goal of the SHINE campaign is to increase the number of Alumni who donate to the university.

“Alumni have played an important role in shaping the University and will continue to be important players as we moved forward,” said Gabriel. “An engaged alumni community translates to a stronger social and professional network for all U of L graduates.”

While there are currently about 10,000 alumni who contribute to the university on an ongoing basis, their goal is to increase that to 20,000 – or about half the total number of graduates.

If someone wants to become part of the campaign and contribute, Mahon explains how to do so.

“Folks can donate online…you can also use the tried and true ‘send a cheque to the University of Lethbridge,’ you can even come by and have a visit and chat with one of our staff and then figure out how best to make that contribution.”

He adds that contributions can also be arranged over a period of time.