LOOKING FOR CASH; SOUTHEAST SEEKS MONEY LOCALLY

Southeast Missouri State University is moving ahead with its capital campaign by launching an effort to land donations from alumni and other supporters in Cape Girardeau County and the Scott City area.

It's all part of the university's "quiet phase" of the 125 Years: Prologue to the 21st Century Campaign, said Wayne Davenport, vice president for university advancement and executive director of the Southeast Missouri University Foundation.

The fund drive began two years ago with a goal of raising $25 million for everything from building projects to scholarships.

Davenport won't say how much has been raised so far. But he said fund-raising efforts are well along.

He said Southeast plans to kick off the public phase of the campaign this fall, which likely will include extending the goal to an amount above $25 million.

Davenport said the "quiet phase" allows the university to raise money from its major donors in advance of launching the public phase of the fund drive.

He acknowledged that the fund raising has been far from secret even in the current stage of the drive. "It is never really quiet," he said.

University officials had talked of kicking off the public phase of the campaign with a celebration in December. But Davenport said the kickoff could be earlier. No date has been set.

The entire campaign is expected to wrap up in spring 2002.

The Cape County/Scott City fund-raising efforts will involve personal solicitation efforts beginning this week and running through August.

After that, a second phase will begin. It will involve direct mail as well as telephone solicitations. Students will phone potential donors.

The direct mail and telephone solicitations will begin after Labor Day and conclude at the end of November, Davenport said.

A previous capital campaign raised $28 million. But Davenport said the current campaign is the most comprehensive in the university foundation's 17-year history.

Major fund-raising efforts are being conducted in 17 Missouri counties, the city of St. Louis and three regions in the state, all of which have high concentrations of Southeast graduates and former students.

Primary out-of-state campaign areas include Southern Illinois, west and central Tennessee, northeast Arkansas, Chicago, Ill., Atlanta, Ga., Western Kentucky, California, Florida and Texas.

"We are broadening the base substantially," said Davenport.

Local support, he said, still remains a key part of university fund-raising.

The university foundation has already had success in getting previous donors to give more money to the school.

One individual who previously had given $5,000 to the university has committed more than $200,000 to the current fund drive, Davenport said.

One foundation board member has raised his commitment to $100,000, said Davenport.

To date, most of the money raised in the campaign has been in the form of pledges.

Dr. Dale Nitzschke, the university's fund-raising chancellor, has been active in securing donations for the School of Polytechnic Studies and the River Campus arts school.

"A campaign isn't just a campaign to raise money," he said. It also involves bringing people closer to the university in terms of personal investment and pride in the institution.

Many area residents have been asked over and over for donations and have responded, Nitzschke said.

"If the truth be known, they are some of our best givers," he said. "They invested in part to help make it better."