State House News Services published information online on July 24 about the University’s successful fundraising results, which yielded more than $3 million in gifts and pledges.
Below is the text from the online article, which requires a subscription:
Westfield State University is touting its fundraising strength, or what its president calls a “philanthropic sea change.” Its philanthropic partner, the Westfield State Foundation, announced Tuesday that it closed fiscal 2018 with more than $3 million in gifts and pledges received. That’s more than a million dollars more than in fiscal 2017 and more than triple the fiscal 2016 fundraising total of $900,000, according to the university. The fiscal 2018 fundraising haul included “a significant bequest and a portion of a $1.1 million anonymous gift,” said Dr. Erica Broman. “These are philanthropic events you can’t budget for, but we are seeing much higher re-engagement with alumni donors who have either given in the past few years, or have done so at lower levels.” Dr. Ramon Torrecilha, who joined the university as president in 2016, said Broman’s team at the Division of Institutional Advancement had done a good job of inspiring gifts by sharing university success stories. The team has increased its out-of-state visits to connect with alumni in California, Florida, Connecticut, New York and North Carolina.