The University of Michigan has pressed the launch button on “Look to Michigan,” a fundraising behemoth striving for a record $7 billion goal, announced as of late Friday, making it both the university’s most ambitious leap into philanthropy and the largest known campaign goal of any public university to date. With already $3.3 billion parked in its coffers from the stealthier, silent phase, the campaign now turns to the public arena for the rest.
As The Detroit News reported, the “Look to Michigan” campaign earmarks these forthcoming funds for strategic plans including Vision 2034 and Campus 2050, further supporting the university’s mission that sprawls across several vital areas including education, health, democracy, civic engagement, and climate change initiatives the previous campaigns have built upon, Victors for Michigan, closed in 2018, raised a hefty $5.3 billion pushing past expectations and setting stage for this forward leap.
Focusing on longevity and far-reaching impact, “Look to Michigan” is critical in scaling the university’s capacity to make global impacts, noted UM’s announcement, with priorities like addressing educational disparities, health care accessibility and affordability, and boosting research that could lead to pivotal advancements in various fields, with gifts already totaling $3.3 billion during the silent phase of the campaign, setting a robust foundation…