INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana colleges, both large and small, raised more than $446 million over a 19-month period in response to a challenge from the Lilly Endowment, which has pledged to match a portion of the money.
From June 2002 to December 2003, officials said the state's 38 colleges solicited donations from alumni, faculty and staff, parents and students, trying to raise $3.5 million each, the goal Lilly set.
The endowment, which had pledged to match up to $133 million if every college were to meet the goal, is contributing $115.9 million.
The University of Notre Dame led the way, raising $163 million. But some of the state's smallest colleges, including Marian and Oakland City University, also were among 26 colleges that reached or exceeded the goal.
The smallest to make it -- 912-student Goshen College in northern Indiana -- raised more than $9 million.
Although 12 schools didn't reach the mark, educators said the challenge helped build links to alumni and others that will pay off in the future.
''When you tell your story, people want to invest,'' said Daniel Elsener, president of private Marian College.
''It's an extraordinary fund-raising lever that Lilly has provided,'' said Hans Giesecke, president of the Independent Colleges of Indiana.
This endowment challenge came on the heels of another to college trustees that last year netted institutions $28.4 million in matching funds. Together, the endowment invested $144.3 million.
Sara Cobb, Lilly's vice president for education, said the endowment's recent efforts in higher education have been based on the belief that for Indiana to thrive in an increasingly complex world, it must have vital universities with first-rate students, faculties and facilities.
Mary Jo Feeney, a 1965 Marian honors graduate, seized the chance to make her gift to the college's expanding honors program and scholarships go further.
''If you are thinking about giving, when you have the ability to double it, that just makes so much more of an impact,'' said Feeney, of Los Altos, Calif.
The challenge came at a good time, as private giving to higher education is starting an upswing, Giesecke said.
Donations to colleges nationwide began to rebound in late 2002, after private gifts fell 1.2 percent in the fiscal year ending June 2002 -- the first national drop in 15 years.
For the state's public universities, the ability to match private gifts has helped buffer limited state funding increases due to Indiana's $1 billion deficit.
Many colleges are using Lilly's matching funds to create scholarships and increase financial aid. Others are building academic and administration facilities, student centers or residence halls.
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