Gift to Real Estate Program Propels SHA into Best Fundraising Year to Date

Thanks to a recent gift from Lisa and Richard Baker ’88, the School of Hotel Administration has surpassed its annual fundraising record with almost two months to go in the fiscal year. There is still time to be a part of this groundbreaking development year by making a gift before June 30, 2012.

The Baker gift will restructure Cornell’s Program in Real Estate (PRE), and the renamed Baker Program in Real Estate will be housed in and governed by SHA and the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning—the two Cornell schools most directly aligned with teaching, research, and professional careers in the field of real estate. The gift will more than triple the program’s current $5 million endowment. The Baker gift to PRE is part of a $12 million total gift to Cornell. (Read the full Cornell Chronicle article about the gift and its impact.)

With the Baker support and gifts from many other alumni and friends, the school’s fundraising total for 2011-12 has surpassed $17.5 million. Please join us in celebrating this record-breaking fundraising year, and make your giftin support of SHA students and programs. No gift is too small. Last year, more than 1,093 individuals made annual fund gifts for a total of $1.3 million in current-use cash. This amount, which is greater than the yearly payout from a $25 million endowment, is a remarkable example of the cumulative power of even modest annual giving.

For more information about SHA giving opportunities, contact Meg Keilbach, director of alumni affairs and development, at mhb7@cornell.edu or 607.255.9542.