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Annual Giving donors make a difference

By Amit Chakma – President and Vice-Chancellor

I am pleased to present Annual Impact 2008-09, a report to Western’s annual donors. As the new President and Vice-Chancellor, I recognize how our annual giving donors have a significant impact on our campus, as they provide a major revenue source on which Western can build its future.

Despite a year of global economic turmoil, Western’s Annual Giving program reached out to over 200,000 individuals last year, raising more than $1.3 million for the University’s highest priority needs. As a donor who gave $10 up to $24,999 this past year, you played an important role in supporting a range of academic priorities including student awards, academic positions, and research and capital projects. Whether you give on a monthly basis or make a one-time gift, or whether you donate a modest amount or make a leadership gift – all gifts make a difference.

Looking ahead, what energizes me most about Western is our strong position among Canada’s leading universities and the opportunity we have to build our profile on the international stage.

I believe Western can do more to extend the best student experience beyond our campus, and better prepare our students to excel in the world. We must strive to provide more learning opportunities for our students to become engaged, responsible citizens and leaders who are inspired to make their community and the world a better place. In part, this involves attracting more international students to study at Western, while also creating more opportunities for Western students to study abroad. And it involves investing selectively and strategically in those areas of teaching and research where Western has the potential to make a difference on a global scale.

To support our international aspirations, Western officially launched a new fundraising campaign on October 3, which aims to raise $500 million by 2014. Despite these challenging economic times, Western’s generous alumni and friends like you have already contributed more than $130 million toward this ambitious target. We have much work to do, and I thank you for your continued support in helping Western to educate the global citizens of tomorrow.

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