By Melyssa Allen

With three months to spare, Meredith College has exceeded the $33.5 million goal of “The Campaign for Meredith,” the largest fundraising campaign in the College’s history.  This is three times Meredith College’s largest previous campaign, which raised $11.8 million at its completion in 1994.

“The Campaign for Meredith” has raised more than $37 million since July 1, 2001, alumna Michelle Rich Goode, one of the Campaign’s tri-chairs, announced at Meredith’s March 30 Board of Trustees meeting.

“We don’t need to rest on our laurels,” she added, noting that there are still 90 days remaining in the Campaign. “There’s still time for everyone to be a part of this successful venture.”

Rich Goode reported that Meredith had reached 110% of “The Campaign for Meredith” fundraising goal.  

“Through this campaign, we are building an endowment worthy of a college of Meredith’s stature, and increasing annual giving to a level that ensures we are able to meet every need and seize every viable opportunity,” said Meredith College President Maureen A. Hartford. As of December 31, 2006, the value of the College’s endowment was $78.5 million.

According to Vice President for Institutional Advancement Connie Harris, “The Campaign for Meredith” goal was reached late in the fall, thanks to a seven-figure gift from the parents of a Meredith alumna.

“The success of “The Campaign for Meredith” is a result of support from the entire Meredith community, including giving by alumnae, trustees, faculty and staff, increased support from parents and young alumnae, and gifts from estates,” Harris said.

Highlights of the campaign include raising $20 million in new scholarships, which includes 90 new scholarships and seven new funds to support student travel abroad. The College has also seen an increase in gifts to The Meredith Fund, the College’s annual giving fund, each year of the campaign.

Harris credits Meredith’s Board of Trustees and the Campaign Steering Committee for leadership of “The Campaign for Meredith,” noting that both the quiet phase and the public phases were chaired by trustees, while the Campaign Steering Committee has met every three months during the final two years of the campaign.

Trustees Jo Ellen Ammons and Yvette Brown have served with Michelle Rich Goode as tri-chairs of the campaign. Ammons has provided leadership for efforts aimed at increasing giving and participation to The Meredith Fund, and Brown has provided leadership in both the campaign’s quiet phase, when she helped the College successfully receive a grant from the Kresge Foundation, and in the campaign’s public phase. Michelle Rich Goode has been a dynamic force in Meredith’s very successful effort to fund the Alumnae Legacy Scholarship, Meredith’s first full academic scholarship program.

“The Campaign for Meredith” will end on June 30, 2007.

For more information on “The Campaign for Meredith,” visit www.meredith.edu/giving.