Ohio State officials say the university and the new Ohio Union have “exceeded expectations” by raising $3.6 million from donors for construction of the $118.8 million project.
But in a feasibility study conducted for the Union from June through November 2004, consultants concluded that the Union could raise $10 million to $15 million. The study, done by Hodge Cramer & Associates, Inc., also said that more than half of the people surveyed believed the university and Union could raise $20 million.
However, OSU’s Office of University Development reviewed the study and found it unrealistic, said Tracy Stuck, director of the Ohio Union, in an e-mail.
Michelle Cramer, an OSU alumna and president and CEO of what is now Cramer & Associates, said she didn’t know the Union changed its goal after the study was submitted, and that she never got much feedback.
She said that Union officials were “very, very happy” with the study.
Cramer & Associates has conducted other studies for OSU, including one for Evans Scholars, since the Union study. The company also just completed a major campaign feasibility study for Franklin Park Conservatory. Cramer & Associates was paid $23,800 for the Union study.
Cramer pointed out that the study stressed that for the ambitious campaign to work, the Union would first have to get commitments from five to seven big donors.
“Those must not have come in very high,” Cramer said.
Cramer’s report also made a second key recommendation that the Union appoint someone to be dedicated just to development for the Union. In 2007 the Union appointed Heather McGinnis as its development officer.
Stuck said the Union had never before been part of a formal fundraising campaign and therefore did not have a strong donor base. OSU also had begun a significant campaign to raise money for the Thompson Library renovation.
To pay for the development officer as well as additional fundraising for the Union, OSU alumna and former Trustee Tami Longaberger and the Longaberger Foundation gave a large gift to the Union for programming.
With this gift, Stuck said the Union set a new, lower goal of $6 million. She said when you combine the Longaberger $3.47 million with the $3.6 million raised for construction, the Union now has raised $7.07 million.
Nonetheless, the $3.6 million dedicated to the construction accounts for only 3 percent of the total cost. Starting in the fall, most students will begin paying $51 per quarter to pay for the Union construction. By 2030, students probably will pay for 75 percent of the cost.
Stuck said the Union’s fundraising is continuing, and additional dollars raised will lower student fees.
“I would guarantee you they’ll get to $10 million,” Cramer said. “They’ll probably need another year. Knowing them (Stuck and McGinnis), they’ll be successful.”
John Meyer of OSU’s Office of University Development and Stuck initially approached Cramer to do the study. The consultants surveyed Union staff members, students, alumni and development staff.
The study found that eight people said they would donate a total of $793,000. Another that 19 said they would give but would not disclose the exact amount. However, the consultants estimated those donors would give between $4,250,000 to $10,250,000.
Comments from potential donors included: “Sure we would. $20 million is not that big of a deal, but they need to do it now.”
Another comment said, “The development department has proven time and time again that it can reach and exceed its goals; just look at ‘Affirm Thy Friendship.'”
Nonetheless, Stuck said the study “was presented in late 2004, well before the major economic downturn in 2007, which has had a significantly negative effect on development initiatives nationwide.”
Although the donations are small compared to the amount students will pay for the Union, President E. Gordon Gee said he is pleased with how much the Union has raised from donors.
During his April Lantern visit, Gee said he wasn’t sure what the fundraising goal was, but he knew that Union officials “have exceeded that goal, and I know that they have done very well, so I’m pleased about that.”
