Editor’s Note: “10 Questions” is part of a weekly series in which a prominent person in the Iowa State and Ames communities is interviewed. To suggest a person to interview, submit e-mail requests to [email protected]. This week’s interview is with ISU Foundation President Tom Mitchell.

What is the ISU Foundation’s mission at Iowa State?

Our mission is to secure and to manage private gift support which benefits Iowa State University.

What do you do as president of the ISU Foundation?

No. 1, I spend a lot of my time working with the university administration, trying to identify individuals, corporations and foundations who might have interest in supporting a particular project.

No. 2, articulating the vision of the foundation and the direction we think we’d like to pursue in the future working with our staff, working with a group of volunteers … and then working with the university administration and carefully crafting that vision for the future.

What campaigns are the ISU Foundation currently working on?

We’re in a campaign called “Campaign Destiny,” and it is a five-year initiative that will conclude in June of the year 2000. The original goal of the campaign was $300 million, and we reached $300 million in September of ’98. So we’re close to two years ahead of schedule.

We then moved our goal forward and decided we’d expand our goal … to $425 million. Right now, we are probably in the range of $325 [million].

How was the plan then revised after you expanded your goal?

When we then expanded the goal, we went back and reviewed each project to see, No. 1: Was it still a priority of the university? [and] No. 2: Was there potential funding sources out there for that kind of a project?

We put some new projects in; we reevaluated the entire process, so the campaign we’re in right now is primarily a two-year initiative.

What made “Campaign Destiny” so successful?

Alumni and friends have high regard for and appreciation for the institution and the quality of education they received while they were here. I would say 98 to 99 percent of them would say that they love Iowa State, they think they got a great education while they were here, and they think Iowa State is a quality institution.

I think the second thing is that they believe, and I believe, along with many other people, President [Martin] Jischke is doing a phenomenal job of directing this institution.

From the foundation standpoint, we have a very strong group of staff people here at the foundation who are pretty passionate about Iowa State. They’re committed to helping improve Iowa State, and they work very hard at doing that.

And lastly, I think the economic climate over the last two to five years has been very good.

Depending on the campaign, how much money comes from individuals, businesses or corporations?

Most people feel and have a perception that corporations and sometimes foundations are where the primary revenues sources are at. Nationwide, statistically, close to 85 percent of the gifts received come from individuals. Another 8 percent will come from foundations, and the other remaining portion, 7 percent comes from corporations.

How are ISU students involved in the ISU Foundation?

We probably have 50 or more working for the foundation in some capacity or another.

A number of students we employ in our phone center call alums and friends six days a week and are very good ambassadors for the institution. Our phone centers is one of the top, I would say four or five in the country. We’re averaging right around $165 per gift over the telephone. We have a number of students who are a public relations team. Those students attend events and functions with us from time to time.

How do you decide what is more important when you receive several different proposals for fund raising?

Primarily, it’s not a decision that we make here. The majority of the time, once the portfolio is established, the process that we have in place starts at the faculty level. They usually forward that to the department chair, and the department chair will say, I’ve got 15 faculty in this area, and 15 of them want scholarships and 15 of them want new equipment. The equipment and scholarships would be our top priorities.

Once it’s approved at the dean’s level, it goes to the provost, and the provost examines each of those priorities to make sure it fits within the institution’s strategic plan. Once the provost approves those, then they will go to president for final approval.

The majority of the gifts that we receive, 95 percent or more are donor driven. So it’s really not a decision that we make, but we spend our time visiting with people and share with them the campaign portfolio, but for the most part they will pick out what they want.

What is the current situation on the Ames/Iowa State ice arena?

It is completely funded. The City of Ames passed the bond issue at $1.7 million, and the university through the students matched that portion at $1.7 million. So that brings it up to $3.4 [million], and there was a private gift fund-raising effort undertaken. [The university is] in the planning stage with the City of Ames and laying out the proposed plans of the size of the facility, where it might be and hiring the architect.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

The most challenging thing is identifying funding sources for these multiple projects … I would say probably a large percentage of the projects within the campaign portfolio have been funded, and we’re continually working to identify sources of revenue.