U of I fundraising campaign tops $2.25 billion

URBANA, Ill. — The University of Illinois Foundation says its 8-year-old Brilliant Futures fundraising campaign has topped its $2.25 billion goal several months early.

The foundation is the university’s fundraising arm. It said in a news release Friday that the campaign has raised $2.267 billion in donations from graduates, corporations and others. The campaign ends Dec. 31.

Foundation President Sidney S. Micek said private donations are increasingly important to public universities. Government financial support for state schools in Illinois and elsewhere has dropped for decades.

Money from the Brilliant Futures campaign will be split among the university’s three campuses. So far $1.6 billion is dedicated to the flagship campus in Urbana and Champaign. The Chicago campus will receive $593 million, and the Springfield campus will get $25.9 million.