BU foundation surpasses $100-million mark

The Brandon University Foundation has surpassed $100 million in total assets for the first time in its history.

The milestone was celebrated Wednesday at the foundation’s annual luncheon, where donors, alumni, students, volunteers and community leaders gathered to recognize the impact of philanthropy at the university.

Last year, the foundation raised more than $4.36 million overall, including a record-setting $465,000 through the Annual Fund Appeal.

Combined with strong investment performance, this brought the amount of total funds under the stewardship of the BU Foundation to more than $108 million, which cracked the nine-figure $100-million mark for the first time ever.

The foundation also disbursed more than $3.6 million to the university — another all-time high — with more than $2.2 million directed specifically toward scholarships and bursaries.

Foundation president Chris Hunt said the numbers are extraordinary, but what matters most is what they make possible.

“For decades, alumni, donors and friends of Brandon University have invested in students and in the future of our community,” Hunt said.

“Reaching $100 million in assets is not about building wealth for its own sake — it’s about building opportunity, supporting research, strengthening programs and helping students succeed.”

The foundation’s support reaches every corner of campus, funding research initiatives, academic programming, equipment, library resources and student supports, the university said in a news release on Friday.

However, most of the investment income goes straight to students — last year, nearly 62 per cent of annual disbursements were directed to scholarships and bursaries.

BU president Christine Bovis-Cnossen said the university is grateful to all donors for their support.

“You are the ones who keep us going as a university, you are the ones who believe in Brandon University, and more than us, you believe in our students,” Bovis-Cnossen said in the release. “Your support of our students, our community, our researchers is instrumental to our success.”

Bovis-Cnossen extended special thanks to the Waves of Hope team, who were in attendance and who had just launched a $150,000 fundraising campaign for the BU Breast Cancer Cell & Molecular Research Laboratory, led by Mousumi Majumder.

“The important work being done at this lab gives a chance for hands-on research experience to first-, second-, third- and fourth-year students that even PhD candidates at larger universities might only be able to dream of,” she said.

The Brandon University Foundation was established in 1980 to encourage and manage philanthropic support for Brandon University.

Since its inception, the foundation has disbursed nearly $79 million to Brandon University in support of students, research, academic excellence and campus initiatives.

» The Brandon Sun