News

Economy hurts UW fundraiser

In the midst of a struggling economy, a fundraising campaign sponsored in part by the University of Wisconsin has yet to reach the halfway point of its goal to raise $3 million for charity with only a week to go.

As of Thursday, the campaign, which encourages donations from state employees, University of Wisconsin faculty and health care workers, has accumulated just over $1 million and is set to end next Friday.

In its 35-year existence, Partners in Giving has typically seen success, including last year’s $2.94 million effort.

Employees of the state of Wisconsin, UW Health or UW-Madison can donate to 475 nonprofit charities through the fund, including relief groups and human rights organizations.

The charity’s website now offers payment by credit card to make it easier for people to donate from home and make a difference, Marketing Chair Tom Sinclair said.

Although the campaign has been raising more money every year, due to recent economic perils it is hard to predict how close it will come to meeting its goal this year.

According to Co-chair Phyllis Fuller, the poor economy will not affect cash flow too much due to the efforts of a strong base of donors the campaign has gathered over the years.

“We’ve found that it hasn’t really been a factor for our campaign,” Fuller said. “We may not get new givers, but the people who give actually give more.”

Sinclair said hardships like the current economic downturn are nothing the campaign hasn’t faced in the past.

“There has always been something in the summer or the fall that has changed the situation so that we really couldn’t predict what the outcome would be,” Sinclair said.

“Whether it was a disaster like Hurricane Katrina a few years ago or 9/11 in 2001, we didn’t know how that would affect charitable giving.”

Although it is unknown exactly how much money will be raised this year, Sinclair and Fuller said the campaign is expecting considerable donations to come in late.

Donations can be made at www.giving.wi.gov through Nov. 28.