SMSU FOUNDATION

Greetings, SMSU Alumni, Friends, and Community Members, After the extensive chaos brought on by the COVID pandemic over the last few years, 2022 saw the SMSU Foundation returning to a more normal operating rhythm on many fronts. Unfortunately, that normalcy was disrupted to some extent by the harsh realities of a down stock market and costly inflation, both of which impacted Foundation finances. But most importantly, there were many positive highlights to celebrate throughout the year, and signs of more great things to come! Here are a few examples:

• Overall support and revenue received by the Foundation increased in 2022 by a very healthy 25% to $5.7 million!

• The Foundation received gifts and commitments from 3,121 individuals and businesses this past year, including 103 gifts that exceeded $5,000.

• Two significant gifts especially worth noting include $500K from Sanford Health for a new scholarship endowment and $250K from the Lockwood family in support of creating our new Elizabeth Lockwood Alumni & Visitor Center. (The Foundation also proudly provided direct financial support for this new Center.)

• In continuing to fulfill the strategic priorities and goals of the Foundation, we provided close to $1.1 million for SMSU Academic and Program support. We are very excited to report that this represents nearly a five-fold increase over 2021!

• Student scholarship support from the foundation was just under $1.2 million for the year, close to even with last year and again reflecting our priority commitment to helping students afford their SMSU education.

As I mentioned the past two years, SMSU and SMSU Foundation leadership are deploying new, focused efforts on major giving, and the formula seems to be showing great promise so far! We have high confidence that even more significant gifts will be realized in the coming months. All of these efforts are in full support of critical strategic objectives set forth in recent years by SMSU’s strong leadership team and under the direction of President Jayasuriya.

On a slightly different note, allow me to point out that the many successes of the Foundation were achieved despite the fact that the Foundation was operating well below normal staffing levels. That forced our existing team to go “above and beyond” to deliver those successes. I want to offer very special thanks to Foundation Staff members Nathan Polfliet, Stacy Frost, Meredith (Hyatt) Swan, and Barb Berkenpas. We are pleased to be on course to have a full team back in place soon.

On behalf of the entire Foundation Board of Directors, allow me to thank all of you for your spirited, ongoing support of SMSU. With your help, the Foundation is able to continue to help empower SMSU’s focus to enhancing educational access and campus experiences for students. 2023 will provide exciting new opportunities for all of us to continue and grow that support.

So, in the Mustang spirit: Let’s run together and imagine the impact! Sincerely,

Dave Werpy ‘79

Foundation Board President

2021-2022 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President: David Werpy ’79

1st Vice President: Brian Knochenmus ‘00

2nd Vice President: Bradley Bacon ’92

Secretary/Treasurer: Kristi Mukomela ‘80

Past President: Jerald Bly ‘71

Executive Director: Nathan Polfliet ‘00/’11

Linda Baun ‘85

Julie Bleyhl ‘84

Tyler Bowen ‘95/‘08

Timothy Burns ‘72

Duane Carrow

Tina Cartwright ‘97

Lee French ‘72

Jim Fuhrmann

Robert Gunther ‘77

Jason Hoffman ‘99

Dorene Kronke-McCourt ‘73

Jefferson Lee IV ‘96/ ‘11

Kenneth Mukomela

Ann Roemen ‘84

Joe Roers ‘05

Diane Taylor ‘75

Cindy Verschaetse

Neal Wahlman ‘75

Brad Winkelman ‘91

SMSU Foundation Mission

We exist in order to engage alumni and friends of Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) in funding scholarships, projects and activities that benefit SMSU Students and support the strategic priorities of SMSU.