UAFS nearing ‘Intrepid’ campaign goal of $85 million

The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith’s (UAFS) Intrepid Ambition fundraising campaign tally is up 13% since university officials on April 2 announced the effort. The campaign is set to end in 2028 as part of the institution’s 100-year anniversary.

The campaign is designed to reshape access to education, elevate academic excellence, and power economic development in the Fort Smith metro, according to UAFS. University officials set a fundraising goal of $85 million by 2028, and had privately raised $68.518 million prior to the April 2 announcement of the public phase of the campaign.

Windgate Foundation, ABB, First National Bank of Fort Smith, Citizens Bank & Trust, and more than 30 individuals made major gifts during the private phase, according to UAFS.

As of Dec. 17, the campaign amount was $77.384 million, up 13% compared with the amount disclosed on April 2. The campaign will need just over $7.6 million by 2028 to reach the goal.

“We had a lot of strategies teed up to amplify the impact of that public launch, and the noise and awareness that came from it, and those strategies have been really successful,” Blake Rickman, UAFS vice chancellor for university advancement and executive director of the UAFS foundation, said in a statement. “There was so much enthusiasm and the community really bought in to not only the excitement, but the goals and objectives we put forward. That resulted in donors stepping up in a big way, and it’s how we’ve raised an additional $9 million plus dollars since April.”

Rickman told Talk Business & Politics in a statement that he believes “this campaign has the momentum to go beyond that” goal of $85 million.

“I think the results we’re seeing show that our community sees the vision,” Rickman said. “I think we’ve reached a new audience, and we’re showing more people the true impact of this institution on the River Valley. Again, that’s come through in the donors who have chosen to invest in us, and the incredible level of support they’ve shown.”

UAFS Chancellor Dr. Terisa Riley has said campaign funds will be used to support the three core priorities of students, people, and community. Specific plans include helping remove financial barriers for students, better pay and support for faculty and staff, and strengthening regional partnerships.

Part of the community support core was creation of the UAFS Center for Nonprofits. The center will be added to the other services at the UAFS Center for Economic Development (CED) at the Bakery District in downtown Fort Smith. It will offer dedicated training and community-building offerings for nonprofit organizations in the Fort Smith metro. Emily Treadaway was hired in July to direct the center.

Rickman teased that “many more concepts” are part of the effort to advance the university and they could be part of the university’s centennial celebrations.

What would become the UAFS was created in 1928 as an extension of the Fort Smith Public School system. The institution would go through many names and forms until becoming part of the University of Arkansas system in 2001.

The university has 5,504 students this fall, and has 839 faculty and staff.