This past fiscal year, California State University, Bakersfield raised $8,463,053 from 1,383 generous donors and partners.

 These include major seven-figure gifts in addition to smaller donations from the `Runner community.

“This fiscal year was particularly unique because we operated remotely for the entire year – a first for us. As a result, our Advancement team was presented with new challenges and opportunities to be creative in our approach to alumni engagement, fundraising, events, and marketing and communications,” said Victor Martin, vice president for University Advancement at CSUB. “The level of engagement we experienced from the Foundation Board and all of our constituents was inspiring and helped us achieve the second-largest fundraising year in the history of the CSUB Foundation.”

Several fundraising records were set in the 2020-21 fiscal year, including:

• A record number of faculty and staff donors supported CSUB through the Faculty and Staff Initiative; 381 donors gave $212,029.25 in support of scholarships, the Food Pantry, technology for virtual learning and other areas on campus.
• The President’s Associates, the longest-standing giving society at CSUB, raised $214,000 to support the Student Research Scholars Program. This is the highest amount in President’s Associates history.
• The Roadrunner Scholarship Fund, which supports CSUB’s 320 scholar-athletes, raised $938,433, the highest amount in CSUB history.
• For the first time in university history, graduating seniors raised money for fellow students through the Senior Class Gift program.
• The university hosted its first-ever Giving Day in October 2020, raising over $124,000.
• The Alumni Association awarded a record amount and number of scholarships to graduate students.

Dr. Aaron Hegde, economics professor and chair of the Academic Senate, donated to the university’s Food Pantry through the Faculty and Staff Initiative.

“The importance of such a service on our campus, especially for students, is paramount,” Dr. Hegde said. “Given the high levels of food insecurity and the compelling stories from the students who were able to benefit from such a service was enough to move me to donate regularly. If folks can give, especially to such programs, it helps us meet the mission of the university. We need to help our students both inside and outside the classroom.”

Iris Villalobos Jauregui, who recently graduated with a degree in business administration, donated to her fellow students through the Senior Class Gift program.

“I am very grateful for what CSUB has done for me, and I wanted to be able to leave behind a token of appreciation to the school so that we can continue to support our future Roadrunners through challenging times,” she said.

She added: “Another reason why it is important for us to support our peers is so that we can lead by example. Leadership is an interpersonal skill that I acquired during my time at CSUB and it is important to exercise those important qualities to our community.”

Other notable gifts during the 2020-21 fiscal year include:

• Dr. Uma R. Varanasi and Sita Varanasi donated $1 million to support the Family Nurse Practitioner Program.
• Valley Strong Credit Union pledged $1 million to establish an endowment, which will create a rotating fellowship for research projects related to the economic growth and prosperity of the Kern County region.
• Shelly Carlin committed $500,000 over five years in support of women’s athletics.
• Connie Perez-Andreesen and Joel Andreesen donated a combined gift of $150,000 to support the Center for Social Justice and the Roadrunner Scholarship Fund.