Record-breaking contributions support St. Catherine’s in fiscal year 2000

For Immediate Release--August 9, 2000
Contact: Angelo Gentile, Communications Office, College of St. Catherine, 651-690-6521

Record-breaking contributions support St. Catherine’s in fiscal year 2000

An anonymous, unrestricted gift of $5 million to support the strategic plan at the College of St. Catherine highlights the best fund raising year in the history of the college. College officials announced the results of the year (ended May 31, 2000) today. The college’s restricted and unrestricted gifts for current operations and capital purposes totaled more than $10 million.

The large anonymous gift of $5 million is remarkable for several reasons. “Frequently, donors who make gifts of this size restrict them to a specific purpose,” said Patricia A. Hvidston, interim vice president for development and external relations. “The college’s vision for the future, dynamic strategic plans and the leadership of Sister Andrea Lee, the college president, motivated the donor to make the gift. The donor wanted to give the college a boost to implement the plans.”

St. Catherine's vision is: “To be the world's pre-eminent Catholic college educating women to lead and influence.” It is already the largest Catholic college for women in the U.S. The strategic plan to achieve that vision builds on St. Catherine’s traditions of academic excellence and commitment to social justice to offer students in all programs an education that prepares them for today’s work force with the skills, abilities and ethical grounding required by today’s employers. Graduates of the College of St. Catherine have made and continue to make a difference locally, nationally and internationally.

The college recognizes that the need for women’s education is stronger today than ever to meet the demands of the expanding work force and the need for women’s leadership in all areas of the community—business, non-profit organizations, community service and government. New programs, activities and initiatives reinforce the college’s position as the leader in women’s education. Partnerships with business, healthcare and education organizations are helping to move the college closer to achieving its vision. [editor’s note: information on the importance of women’s education is available on the Web at www.womenscolleges.org]

“This incredibly generous gift speaks volumes for the importance of the path the college has chosen to follow,” said President Andrea J. Lee, IHM. “As we work with business to create new programs that meet their needs, as we work with schools and agencies to build partnerships that will help them succeed and as faculty and students strengthen and develop relationships to address important social issues, we will continue to rely on the generosity of donors such as the wonderful benefactor.”

St. Catherine's annual giving at record level
In addition to the $5 million gift, the college enjoyed its best year ever in annual giving, said Hvidston, receiving a total of more than $10 million (including the $5 million gift) in contributions for a variety of uses.

For the fiscal year, June 1, 1999 to May 31, 2000, the college received total unrestricted contributions and restricted gifts for current operations and capital purposes of $9,438,335 and deferred gifts of $762,868. Collectively, the amount totals $10,201,103.

By comparison, the previous year's annual giving amount totaled $4.6 million, according to Lisa Sheppard Pearson, director of the annual fund.

(The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province, pledged their recent, highly publicized $20 million gift to the college in fiscal year 2000-2001. It is not included in these totals.)

The College of St. Catherine is the largest Catholic college for women in the country. Through a diversity of programs, the college offers the intimacy of a four-year liberal arts college and the opportunity to complete baccalaureate, associate and master's degrees in a variety of health-care specialties, liberal arts and professional programs. Committed to meeting the educational needs of women of all ages, St. Catherine's offers many of its bachelor's and master's degree programs in both traditional day and weekend formats. With beautiful campuses in St. Paul and Minneapolis, the college has a total enrollment of 4,372.