• Campus
  • 08/09/2016

University is going to tap a new flow of funds

Karen Ali, formerly Director of STU, has been appointed Director of Private Fundraising. In this position she is going to tap a new flow of funds for the university, which is known as philanthropic funding. "For TU/e this is still unbroken ground, but we are going for it", says Ali. "Not everything we try will succeed straight away. Then again, it may, and that would be a bonus." At present there are two people supporting Ali and that number will increase.

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Fundraising among wealthy private persons has been quite customary in the United States and the United Kingdom for a long time. TU/e is also going to examine what can be achieved in this area.

It is not only individuals or alumni that Ali and her team will focus on. “Big organizations and charities are also interesting prospects for us. Last Tuesday we showed a 30-person delegation of ABP pension fund around a selection of our research and our labs for a whole day. While that group may have felt a bit overwhelmed by our offer at the end, they were also very enthusiastic about what they had seen.”

No financial targets have been set for now, says Ali. “We must first devote energy especially to building solid relations and thereby establish a basis for philanthropic funding. First you need to know who the potential donors are, what they want, what they feel enthusiastic about and what they wish to make donations to. In the next stage you can respond to that."

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