The Limitless Campaign's total of $53.7 million was formally announced on Monday during a small, socially-distanced media event at TRU on Monday (Image Credit: TRU)

By Chad Klassen

LIMITLESS CAMPAIGN

‘They didn’t want finances to get in the way’: Donors support students as Limitless Campaign raises $53.7 million

Apr 26, 2021 | 3:17 PM

KAMLOOPS — The biggest fundraising campaign in the history of Thompson Rivers University (TRU) has come to an end.

Despite the hurdle of COVID-19, it exceeded all expectations.

The university publicly launched the campaign in October 2019.A year-and-a-half later, the campaign pocketed $53.7 million, nearly $4 million more than the $50-million goal.

Vice-President of University Relations Brian Daly said it was a number TRU wasn’t sure it could even come close to. When the pandemic hit last March, there was uncertainty around the Limitless Campaign.

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“I arrived in Kamloops in this position on May 4, 2020 — the height of the pandemic — and we were concerned,” said Daly. “We were $5.5 million short of our campaign goal and we didn’t know how the world, the community, was going to respond to the last $5 million we needed to raise, but they responded.”

By the end of the campaign, 4,500 donors had stepped forward to exceed the $50-million goal. Daly said the pandemic — and the financial uncertainty around it — actually helped the team reach the fundraising goal.

“People that had a chance to go to college, had a chance to go to university, recognized what that meant. If they were financially able, they found a way to get in touch with us and said, ‘I want to support youth, adults, anybody, whatever stage they’re at in their educational journey to have a chance.’ They didn’t want finances to get in the way,” noted Daly.

Nearly $34 million is allocated towards scholarships and bursaries, $11 million will be invested in new buildings and equipment, while the rest — $9 million — will go towards research and innovation.

“The number one thing on people’s minds was students,” said TRU President and Vice-Chancellor Brett Fairbairn. “The biggest single category is funds that support students who have financial needs, and really just to help students focus on their success. After that, I think about outfitting our laboratories in different fields, outfitting our buildings and really making those excellent spaces for people to learn in.”

Some of the $53.7 million has already been spent. The TRU Nursing and Health Building received an injection of capital in the form of $1.5 million from Dr. Sherman Jen ($5 million total) as part of the Limitless Campaign. It added four simulation labs that have computerized mannequins to help students enjoy a more hands-on learning environment.

“When you ask about the nursing building, one of the facilities in there is the Sherman Jen teaching clinical facility. It’s really an opportunity because of the donation for our students to have state-of-the-art equipment to learn about health care and health practice,” said Fairbairn.

Looking ahead, the university is hoping the Limitless Campaign can take it to the next level.

“It was the community that said it was time for a Law School. It was the community that said nursing and population health. We want to be more active in healthcare,” said Daly. “I think it’ll be a conversation that we’re having with our friends, our communities, to see what direction we want to go in next.”