Answering The Call campaign closes as largest in Concordia University, Nebraska history

Seward, NE (07/28/2021) — Concordia University, Nebraska's five-year Answering The Call campaign, the most successful in university history, ended June 30 after raising $93,783,198 for the university.

"We thank God for moving the exceedingly generous hearts of nearly 12,000 Concordia alumni and friends who provided amazingly abundant gifts for His mission for Concordia to continue equipping women and men to learn, serve and lead in the church and world," said Rev. Russ Sommerfeld, interim president.

The campaign was boosted early on by a $10 million gift from the Rupert Dunklau Foundation, the largest gift in university history, one of nine commitments of at least $1 million. The breadth of the support for Concordia was significant, with 11,740 donors contributing to the campaign's success.

"We are humbled at the provision of God through so many generous donations, and are excited to see the future kingdom building that will occur as a result," said Dr. Doug and Denise Tewes, co-chairs of the campaign's steering committee. "God's plans are bigger than ours and He showed that in this campaign, which morphed from a goal of $65 million to a final result of over $93 million - Wow, God!"

Supporters during the campaign bolstered scholarship endowments to provide funding for students, keeping the cost of attending Concordia competitive with public institutions. They fully funded the $26.5 million Dunklau Center for Science, Math and Business, a state-of-the-art facility that opened in Fall 2019. They made a number of new academic initiatives a reality, including an agricultural science program developed through community and industry partnerships. Finally, they enabled Concordia to break ground in April 2021 on a new $17 million music center that is set to open in Fall 2022.

Publicly announced in July 2019, the campaign started in July 2016 with construction of a state-of-the-art instruction, lab and research facility for Concordia's growing and popular science and business programs as a key focus. Other initiatives included raising current and endowed funding for scholarships, including for students going into professional church work; resourcing academic programs and projects, including undergraduate research and mission trips; and growing annual support to assure short and mid-term financial strength and stability for the university. Every campaign goal was met and exceeded.

"All praise and glory go to Almighty God and Him alone," said Kurth Brashear, vice president for institutional advancement. "To accomplish all we hoped for, and more during Answering The Call, especially considering these past 18 months, is proof that Concordia is richly blessed by generous men and women who support our students, value our Christ-centered education, and believe in the university's mission. Thanks be to God!"

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The Dunklau Center for Science, Math and Business, which opened in Fall 2019, was funded through Concordia’s Answering The Call campaign, the largest in university history.