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Statement on the launch of the Strategic and Sustainable Fundraising
Programme for the University of Zimbabwe
Deputy Prime
Minister, Professor Arthur G.O. Mutambara
April 05, 2012
The past decade
has witnessed strong economic growth for many countries of Africa,
which has created tremendous amounts of wealth for African entrepreneurs
and leading to the emergency of a stable and urban based middle
class on the continent. Considerable wealth has been created in
such sectors as telecommunications, mining, construction and banking,
among others. Many Africans have also scaled global organizational
heights, achieving considerable economic status in the process.
Indeed there are now many billionaires on the continent. The Diaspora
also has many African millionaires. While the continent has always
had a deep-rooted culture of giving, this operates mainly at the
family and community levels. There is a dearth of formal African
philanthropy in the form of corporate, private and community foundations.
As such, very few of Africa's newly rich and those influential
positions give back to wider causes beyond their families and immediate
communities. In the context of initiatives such as NEPAD and the
African Renaissance, formal African philanthropy should be encouraged
and nurtured.
In Zimbabwe
we are aggressively pursuing this principle of Africans giving back
to their own institutions starting with the University
of Zimbabwe where we are developing a strategic and sustainable
fundraising framework which we are launching through a fundraising
dinner.
Former South
African President, Thabo Mbeki, will be the Guest of Honour at this
fundraising dinner. The dinner is being organized by UZ alumni,
the University of Zimbabwe and the Private Sector. It will be held
at 7:00pm on Saturday the 28th of April, 2012 in the UZ's
Great Hall. While serving the objective of raising funds to meet
the UZ's current needs, this event is also designed to nucleate
the spirit of giving among the UZ graduates and Zimbabweans in general.
We expect an
attendance of 650 at the dinner. The price for attending the dinner
is US$200 for individuals and $2000 for corporate tables. Beyond
attending the dinner, we are recommending that every UZ graduate
makes a minimum contribution of $100 to the ongoing fundraising
programme. Once launched, this dinner will become an annual event
to be organized and run by the Fund Raising Committee, and all UZ
graduates will be encouraged to make regular annual contributions
to the fund raising programme.
A bona fide
and transparent mechanism for collecting and managing these contributions
will be established. A new account will be established into which
all contributions will be deposited. A committee comprising prominent
alumni will oversee the operations of the account and supervise
the disbursement of funds for use in the various projects.
We aim to raise
US$10 million at the dinner event and US$20 million by the end of
2012 through the ongoing activities of the fundraising committee.
These funds will go towards meeting part of the UZ's US$70
million requirement for capital projects, which are outlined in
the UZ's Fundraising Handbook. They comprise twenty specific
initiatives including the development of state of the-art geo-technology
laboratories that process large volumes of earth observation data;
establishment of a technology resource centre and business advisory
services, refurbishment of medical and other laboratories; construction
of a female student hostel; construction of a world class Graduate
School of Management; replacement of old furniture in the University
library; providing support (scholarships and other forms of assistance)
to disadvantaged and special needs students and the capitalization
of an endowment fund.
A fundraising committee comprising of influential alumni as well
as key people from within the University has been set up to manage
the fund raising programme. Additionally, several alumni who are
now resident abroad have been identified to serve as ambassadors
for the University in this fundraising drive. Although the efforts
are alumni driven, support is also being sought from non-alumni
members of the private sector, civic society, Diaspora and the public
sector. Donations and contributions can take any of the following
forms:
- Funds for
capital projects (buildings and equipment)
- Building
materials (bricks, roofing, plumbing, etc)
- Funds for
scholarships (corporate and individual donor scholarships and
endowed scholarships)
- Equipment
(computers, laboratory equipment, motor vehicles, etc)
- International
exchange programs and staff development fellowships
- Endowed research
positions and professorships
- Corporate
adoption of classrooms and laboratories
- Other donations
in kind such as books and building materials.
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