Travel, perks are standard for university fundraising
Fundraisers from Iowa’s three public universities traveled to dozens of cities - from San Francisco to Istanbul, Turkey - in 2003-04, hoping to land big gifts from generous donors.
At times the fundraisers played golf, bought sporting event tickets and ate meals with donors before making a pitch for money to pay for scholarships, stadiums and dormitories at the state’s three universities, travel records show.
The foundations, which raise money for Iowa’s three universities, spent more than $868,000 combined on travel and hospitality during fiscal year 2004, or less than 1 percent of the foundations’ annual fundraising costs. The bill was footed by donor money at Iowa State University, and a mix of taxpayer and donor support at the University of Iowa and University of Northern Iowa.
The Des Moines Register reviewed the travel records of U of I and ISU development officers and foundation presidents taking trips that included expenses of $500 or more between July 2003 and June 2004. All trips taken by UNI fundraisers and the foundation president during the period were reviewed.
In some instances, fundraisers slept at four-star hotels and dined at upscale restaurants. For example:
• Floyd Akins , senior director of development for the U of I Foundation, was reimbursed for $229 per night for a three-night stay at The Regency Hotel on New York City’s Park Avenue in June 2004.
• Brian Campbell, ISU senior director of development, paid $304 for three people at Emilies, a San Francisco restaurant, in September 2003.
• Bill Calhoun, UNI Foundation president and vice president for university advancement, was reimbursed $153 for a dinner for two at Village, a Greenwich Village restaurant, on a trip to New York in December 2003.
More: desmoinesregister.com
