What purpose does Achieve! The Campaign for NC State serve?
The Achieve! campaign is a university-wide effort to raise the private funds we need to take NC State to a whole new level of national prominence. The campaign and its priorities have been carefully planned by NC State’s leadership, staff, faculty and the heads of our colleges and units. It took several years for these plans to be reviewed and discussed by all, including careful scrutiny by the Board of Trustees and a special Achieve! campaign executive committee comprised of distinguished faculty members, top administrative officials and alumni leaders. In the end, we came up with a list of priorities that reflects the goals of individual areas as well as NC State as a whole. We believe that coordinating our funding needs will help us make better use of the monies we raise, inspire greater progress thanks to a united effort and, ultimately, result in a far more successful fund-raising effort and a far stronger university. For a look at the goals the campaign is seeking to fulfill, please visit our Priorities area.

How does the Achieve! campaign differ from past capital campaigns?
NC State has never attempted a fund-raising effort of this magnitude before. But we have also never been on the verge of such a large growth opportunity before. By raising $1 billion, we will become part of a small community of public universities that have reached this significant milestone. We believe the time is right for a capital campaign of this size and, certainly, the time is right for NC State to step up and play an even greater role in shaping the future of North Carolina and the nation.

If NC State is a state-supported institution, why are private gifts needed?
NC State receives funds from three sources: tuition, appropriations from the state's budget and private support. Though tuition and state monies provide a large part of the university's operating budget, there are always more needs than those two sources can supply — especially when the state's budget is tight, as has been the case in recent years. More importantly, wise use of our public funds in recent decades has led to a significant increase in NC State’s stature and it has become apparent that the investments we have made in cutting-edge technologies and cross-disciplinary areas of study are vital to North Carolina and the nation’s future. We have both an obligation and an opportunity to step up and play an even more important world in shaping that future.

To do that, we will need private funds to strengthen our resources and remain a leader among Research I universities. Put simply: gifts to the the Achieve! campaign will help us meet important goals that would otherwise go unmet.

How do I make a gift to the Achieve! campaign? Is the process different than before?
No. The process for giving gifts to NC State as part of the Achieve! campaign is the same as it has always been. We are grateful for gifts of cash, checks, credit cards, stock transfers and other assets. Please visit our Making a Gift Section for more information on gift-giving specifics.

Do my contributions to the Annual Fund count toward the Achieve! campaign?
Yes. Every contribution made to NC State, whether through the Annual Fund or another gift-giving program, counts as a contribution to the Achieve! campaign. By looking at our fundraising efforts as a whole, we can not only better coordinate the planning and uses of all the different gifts we receive, we also underscore an important point about NC State’s future: by working together for a greater good, the different colleges and units at NC State can make far greater progress than any one of them could on their own.

Can I specify how I want my Achieve! contribution to be used?
Absolutely. The way you choose to give and the gift-giving program you elect to participate in determines how your gift will be used. We offer many different options in this regard. You can specify that it go to a specific purpose such as student support, faculty support, research support and more. Or, you can ask that it be used within a specific college or unit. For information on giving directly to a college or unit, please visit our Priorities Area. For more information on gift-giving options when you contribute to the university at large, please see our Making a Gift section. To make an unrestricted gift — which the university vitally needs — you can Give On-Line now.