For the first time, Cal Poly Pomona has launched a comprehensive fundraising campaign. The Campaign for Cal Poly Pomona strives to raise $150 million over five years to strengthen its ability to provide hands-on learning opportunities, to prepare students for the changing demands of workplace, to increase research and scholarship opportunities, and to ensure that a quality college education is within reach for underrepresented communities.

“Excellence comes at a price,” said President Michael Ortiz, during the announcement at Fall Conference Monday. “If Cal Poly Pomona is to keep up with the demands of the California and the economy as well as graduate and professional schools, we must make the acquisition of external funding among our highest priorities.”

With a $42 million gift from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and other major donations, the university is more than halfway toward its ambitious goal. During his convocation message, Ortiz invited the entire university community — faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends — to rally around the campaign, which will transform and invigorate the university.

“This is our time,” Ortiz said. “It’s because of people like W.K. Kellogg and Charles Voorhis. It’s because of our alumni and our friends in industry. It’s happening because of you, people who recognize that we must constantly strive to be better tomorrow than we are today.”

Over the past 12 years, state funding for higher education has fallen more than 60 percent. Public funding for education is not expected to return to the levels from a decade ago, and the current state budget remains unresolved. Private donations and gifts, however, are not meant to supplant reduced state funding, an issue that should be a priority among education advocates, taxpayers and their representatives in Sacramento.

Rather, the campaign’s goal is to generate support for things not funded by the state that enhance education: classroom resources to keep pace with rapidly changing industry, scholarships for promising students, faculty development and research assistance, and community outreach.

“Now more than ever, we need our friends and supporters,” said Scott Warrington, vice president for university advancement. “Financial realities have outpaced funding resources.”

The Kellogg Foundation gift, which takes the form of a challenge grant, is designed to generate enthusiasm and support for the campaign. To add to the momentum, the Cal Poly Pomona Alumni Association has established a $100,000 matching fund for new alumni donations, which will increase the impact of those gifts to the university. A $100 gift automatically becomes $200, $500 becomes $1,000.

“We are also preparing opportunities for everyone on campus to get involved and make gifts that are truly meaningful,” Ortiz said.

To learn more about the campaign, visit www.cpp.edu/~advancement/publications/newterritory.shtml. For a transcript of the president’s message, visit http://polycentric.cpp.edu/news_stories/Convocation%202010.pdf.

Cal Poly Pomona has embarked on a $150 million comprehensive fundraising campaign to ensure that a quality college education is within reach for future generations of students. The campaign will strengthen the university’s ability to provide a hands-on education, to prepare students for the changing demands of the workplace, and to increase research and scholarship opportunities. The fundraising campaign relies on the support of the entire campus community — from alumni to faculty and staff to friends of the university. For more information, visit http://campaign.cpp.edu/.