MNU Receives Largest Ever One-Time Gift of $7.5 million

December 15, 2011

Jon North, vice president for university advancement, announced today that MidAmerica Nazarene University is the recipient of a 7.5 million dollar gift. This unrestricted cash donation is the largest one-time gift the university has received in its 43-year history. North says the gift represents the culmination of many months of work and is evidence of the donor’s confidence in MNU.
 
“Our donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, has a heart for Christian higher education,” North says, “and considers it a tremendous responsibility to practice good stewardship of what God has provided.”
 
The gift adds to the many positive developments that have occurred at MNU this past year. The university is seeing the benefit of its efforts to allocate resources into high growth areas. University officials say that these decisions have allowed MNU to make progress toward achieving goals stated in the university’s 2010 five-year strategic plan. They cite positive indicators from this fall such as:
·        traditional undergraduate enrollment 5% higher than projected,
·        25% increase in graduate and adult revenues,
·        undergraduate applications up 11% from last year,
·        support from Nazarene churches up 5%,
·        Regional Nazarene churches partnering with MNU for a three-year, $7 million Pioneering the Future campaign for scholarships for Nazarene students, and
·        net income and cash flow from operations significantly up from last year.
 
“This gift is a game changer,” says Kevin Gilmore, MNU’s vice president for finance. “It will allow us to take MNU to the next level by providing an operating reserve that we have needed for several years and reducing our reliance on short-term financing. It will also add to the positive momentum we are experiencing, which we trust will encourage further generous support.”
 
North says the donor considers the university’s mission “to educate and inspire servant leaders,” worthy of this investment, and supports the institution’s vision “to be a premier Christian university with global impact,” adding that through its alumni, students and faculty, MNU has had an impact in 150 countries worldwide.
 
“Our donor has had many years of exposure to MNU and what we do,” North states. “We are so grateful for this amazing demonstration of support that will provide more opportunities to educate young people and adults in a Christian learning environment.”
 
MNU’s interim president, Dr. Jim Diehl, cites three major factors in securing this gift and the university’s positive turn around.
 
“These three factors are the leadership of our administration in making difficult but strategic decisions; the exceptional dedication, hard work, and sacrifice of our faculty and staff over the last two years in adding growth programs while tightening their belts; and God’s divine intervention,” Diehl asserts. The Holy Spirit has moved on this campus this fall. From a significant time of renewal during Spiritual Deepening Week, to securing this timely gift, God shows us once more that He is at work. This is not the first time He has done the impossible at MNU, and now it has happened again.”
 
To learn more about MNU visit www.mnu.edu/give.