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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska Foundation says it has raised more than $200 million in gifts and pledges for the third straight year.
The foundation announced Tuesday that it raised $212.7 million from nearly 40,000 donors for the fiscal year ending June 30. The fundraising total is the third-highest in the foundation's 79-year-old history.
A record-breaking $258 million fundraising total was announced last year. The foundation raised $236 million in 2012-13.
The Lincoln Journal Star (http://bit.ly/1MZT51L ) reports the foundation provides funding for scholarships, academic programs, research and other initiatives.
Tonn Ostergard, outgoing chairman of the foundation's board of directors, said half of what was raised will go toward construction projects at the University of Nebraska's four main campuses. Those include the new Health Science Education Complex at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, the new College of Business Administration at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and Baxter Arena at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
"Philanthropy has not only transformed our campuses physically, but it has also helped us attract talented faculty and even more students to the university," Ostegard said in a statement.
The foundation's endowment totaled $1.55 billion at the end of the 2014-2015 fiscal year, with total assets, including cash holdings, of $2.23 billion.
NU President Hank Bounds called the donations a "strong vote of confidence in our faculty, students and programs."
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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, http://www.journalstar.com
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