Colorado State University has opened new doors in downtown Denver as part of a strategic effort to better serve and engage its 43,000 Denver-area alumni as well as the larger metro Denver community.
Nearly two years ago, CSU began realigning existing staff and placing them in Denver to build a strategic, coordinated approach to Denver-area activities. Alumni, athletics, corporate relations, donor development, public relations and marketing representatives are helping lead this effort. This new effort joins CSU’s Executive MBA and Continuing Education, which have been offering courses in Denver for more than 20 years.
The collaboration, called the “Denver Initiative,” was created to forge a stronger connection with alumni and friends of the University who are in the Denver metropolitan area. The CSU staff in Denver helps connect CSU colleges, departments, faculty and students with opportunities in Denver for increased exposure, alumni engagement, donor development and corporate relations.
Colorado State University and CSU Ventures have created CSU Fund I LLC, a private equity investment fund to help advance early-stage companies associated with CSU.
CSU Fund I held its final close March 31. The fund has already made one investment and is evaluating several other investment opportunities. The fund is managed by CSU Management Corp., a subsidiary of the private, non-profit CSU Ventures Inc., which helps the university to commercialize new research innovations associated with business development, global partnerships and critical commercialization activities.
“This resource offers a critical piece of the puzzle for accelerating our cutting-edge research,” said Tony Frank, President of Colorado State University. “We are pleased that investors see the promise in Colorado State’s faculty and research excellence. Few universities have initiated this type of fund, which says a lot about the potential impact, success and commercial value of our programs as well as investors’ support of CSU.”
Colorado State University experienced an increase in donors and dollars raised in the past year – bucking a national trend of average declines topping 13 percent at U.S. public research universities.
Colorado State is one of a few colleges and universities that have seen an increase in number of donors (17 percent) and dollars raised (6.6 percent) from fiscal year 2009. CSU also has seen a sizable increase in overall alumni engagement, alumni volunteers and alumni association membership.
“The CSU community always rises to a challenge, and our students, alumni, and donors have done an outstanding job rallying support and building momentum for the university’s fundraising goals,” said President Tony Frank. “They’ve helped to tell the CSU story and let people know that their donations to Colorado State University really do make a difference and change lives. Even during tough economic times, people want to do what they can to help create jobs and opportunity, and CSU has a long tradition of serving our state, generating economic prosperity, and educating leaders for our communities.”
