FIU University Advancement’s Corporate Relations team raised more than $25 million in Fiscal Year 2017, doubling the record for corporate giving to FIU in a single year and exceeding their goal by $11 million. While the number is of great historic significance, the impact the funds raised will have on FIU is the true value: Nearly $20 million will go to student success initiatives, including scholarships, and more than $10 million will be used to grow FIU’s endowment. The Corporate Relations team is led by Karla Hernandez, newly promoted to Executive Director of Corporate Relations, and three accomplished  fundraising professionals: Joe Hornstein, Shivani Joshi, and Megan Meeks.
Nationally, corporate philanthropy makes up an average of 16.1% of total giving to higher education.* Through the efforts of the University Advancement Corporate Relations team, corporate philanthropy at FIU reached 30% of the total funds raised.
In addition, this past year, the team launched FIU’s first Corporate Council, which brought together 13 senior leaders from across FIU to discuss how to best leverage and facilitate our corporate partnerships. The council meets several times throughout the year and is currently putting together a comprehensive university-wide engagement and solicitation strategy for top corporate prospects.
The Corporate Relations team also successfully led the fundraising efforts for two very important community programs: the Education Effect, a university-community school partnership operating in Miami’s Liberty City, Overtown, and Little Haiti neighborhoods, and Verizon’s Innovative Learning for Minority Males Program. These programs received $1.4 million in new funding because of the work of the Corporate Relations team. Due to Ms. Hernandez’s leadership and the tireless work of the Corporate Relations team, FIU students, local schoolchildren and their families, and the entire FIU community will benefit — now and in the future.
*2016 Voluntary Support of Education Survey, Council for Aid to Education