The University of Saskatchewan set out to raise half a billion dollars with their ‘Be What the World Needs” campaign and have exceeded that goal.  Announced Wednesday, USASK surpassed their goal, raising $570,739,155 through alumni, individual and corporate donations.

The ‘Be What the World Needs’ campaign is the largest fundraising campaign in Saskatchewan’s history. The funds raised will be invested into four major areas at USask: critical research, Indigenous achievement, student success, and creation of visionary spaces for innovative research, teaching and learning.

University of Saskatchewan President Peter Stoicheff says the people they graduate and the research that they do supports so many of the things that will help to make this province central to the ambitions of the country and provides many of the things that this world now needs.  Stoicheff says the impact will be felt for generations to come and USask helps to drive the economy both in the province as well as the nation.

The decade long campaign received more than 100,000 gifts including USask’s largest donors Ron and Jane Graham who support things like a renovated football clubhouse, among other improvements at the university campus.

The donations included large corporate gifts from companies such as Nutrien and Cameco with more than 27,000 companies, foundations, and individuals from 44 countries contributing to the campaign.

The enhancements from this campaign include:

-23 research chairs established

-950+ scholarships created to support Indigenous students

-supporting research that will aid in solving the world’s greatest challenges such as food security, infectious diseases and rural health

-supports for students in crisis

-mental health and emergency funding for students in need

-supports for Huskie student-athletes

-new and enhanced learning environments, state of the art athletics facilities and collaborative spaces

Supporters from 44 countries around the world supported this campaign.