In June 2018, Saint Anselm launched the public phase of a $70 million capital campaign, the largest philanthropic effort in the institution’s 129-year history. ‘Faith in the Future: The Campaign for Saint Anselm College’ has five fundraising priorities: mission based programs, community based programs, faculty and student initiatives, capital improvements, and the annual fund,” said Senior Vice President of College Advancement Jim Flanagan.

The Faith in the Future Campaign is one that encourages donors to believe in the future of Saint Anselm College.  Flanagan is one of the members of the Saint Anselm community who helps organize the campaigns.

“The campaign started with a goal of $60 Million,” said Flanagan.  “After the initial success of the campaign, where Dr. DiSalvo, the Campaign Committee, and College Advancement raised $19.2 Million in the first year, the Board of Trustees voted to increase the goal to $65 Million.”    

Prior to launching the public phase of the campaign, the Trustees again increased the campaign goal to $70 Million to which Flanagan states, “We’re pretty confident we’ll succeed that goal by the end of the campaign on June 30, 2020.”

The campaign is broken up into the five sections that follow:

$5 Million for Faith in Our Mission

$5 Million for Faith in Our Community

$10 Million for Faith in Our Hilltop Home

$25 Million for Faith in Saint Anselm Today

$25 Million for Faith in Our Faculty & Students

Faith in Our Mission refers to programs that will enhance our Catholic, Benedictine values.  The Freshmen retreat experience, Anselmian 360, is an example of a program, as well as The Center of Ethics in Business and Governance.

Faith in Our Community aims to bring students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and the people of Manchester together as a community.  Programs for this include Diversity and Inclusiveness, International Programs, Meelia Center for Community Engagement, and Living Learning Communities.

Faith in Our Hilltop Home allows for the care for the buildings, facilities, and grounds of Saint Anselm College.  This includes The Roger and Francine Jean Student Center Complex, Enhanced Learning Environments, and Athletics.

Faith in Saint Anselm Today increases the gifts to The Saint Anselm Fund to benefit every aspect of life on the Hilltop.  This covers Anselmian Scholarships, Anselmian Support, Anselmian Academics, Anselmian Life, and Anselmian Athletics

Faith in Our Faculty and Students will fund the enhancement of scholarly work.  Endowed Chairs, Faculty Research Development, The Gregory J. Grappone ‘04 Humanities Institute, Affordability and Access, Undergraduate Internships, and Faculty-Student Research Collaborations are all being benefited by this aspect of the campaign.

“There were four years of planning leading up to this campaign,” explains Flanagan.  “Then we entered a short silent phase before talking to benefactors and soliciting donors.  We sent a survey out to Alumni and worked with the College’s Strategic Plan in order to make decisions about this campaign.  It was important to look around campus and see what needed to be prioritized.”

The money raised from the campaign fund the priorities that benefit the largest amount of students.

Flanagan explains, “During the quiet phase of the campaign, 15 benefactors made gift commitments of $1 million or more, including the largest individual gift in the history of the college made by Roger and Francine Jean. At the campaign public launch on June 7, 2018, the College reported a total of $60 million raised from alumni, trustees, monastic community, faculty, staff, parents, and friends.”

Of special note are:  

• $8.3 million dollars for the Roger and Francine Jean Student Center Complex
• $19.2 million dollars for endowed scholarship funds and $3.2 million for endowed faculty chairs, part of $30 million dollars committed to the College’s endowment   
• Over $2.6 million for the College’s Institutes and Centers, including a $1 million commitment for the Gregory J. Grappone Class of 2004 Humanities Institute and $1 million for the Meelia Center for Community Engagement
• Over $18 million to the Saint Anselm Fund, the College’s annual fund which helps support student financial aid, academics, student life, and athletics

The Faith in the Future campaign is the most ambitious campaign in the history of the college and is successful largely because of Saint Anselm Alumni who believe in Catholic, Benedictine values.  Just another reason why the world needs more Anselmians.