The CHICAGO Initiative
On June 30, 2008, the University of Chicago Medical Center closed the books on the Spark Discovery, Illuminate Life campaign, raising $811 million against a goal of $550 million. Gifts to the Medical Center through Spark Discovery accounted for more than one-third of the University-wide Chicago Initiative, which raised $2.3 billion.
A sharp increase in giving to the Medical Center delivered record-breaking results. In each of the past three years, donors contributed more than $100 million, up from an annual average of $75 million earlier in the campaign. More than 22,000 donors made contributions during the nine-year effort. Their philanthropy will impact teaching, research, and patient care for years to come.
The total raised during the Chicago Initiative more than triples that of the University’s last campaign, completed in 1996. All total, more than 117,000 alumni, friends, and organizations generously supported virtually every area of the University.
Through their contributions, campaign donors will spark new discovery, train the country’s best new physicians and scientists, provide the best and most advanced medical care, and improve life for millions of people far into the 21st Century.
