California State University Donations Hit Record High Figures

"As the university system becomes more aware of its role in the state's economy, state universities are a ray of hope for students that want to come back to school to get additional skills for better jobs," Fallis said.

Thompson said Sac State has many events which tie the campus to the public, such as art openings, music events and football games. Thompson said that alumni who come back to the campus for sporting events and music events tend to be the ones who donate money to the school.

Last year a community council of 50 to 100 local businesses met with professors on campus to share ideas on how to run a small business."These types of events are important," said Thompson, "because they keep people coming to the campus who have an interest in the students' futures."

Fallis said lots of students are coming back to school to become nurses, engineers and scientists. He gave an example of how many scientists need to understand the background of a business and accounting. When a school is able to provide the necessary training in areas that are growing, large businesses and government foundations see the need to provide money to these programs.

"With all programs we try to create an inviting institution for the public to support and show the value of the institution to the community," he said.

Thompson said the Registrar's Office breaks down and analyzes all the various department needs. The office will create a report showing where money is needed.

The donations specifically given to individual scholarship programs are often very detailed. The office tries to keep the categories broad, so the money is used. If the qualifications are too specific, the money cannot be used and gets rolled over to the next year. A certain physics scholarship requires the applicant to be a junior with a 4.0 in physics. When the school is unable to fill the requirement, the scholarship rolls to the next year.