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U achieves second-best year on record for philanthropy
More than 83,000 donors to the University of Minnesota gave $267 million in gifts and pledges in fiscal year 2009, which ended June 30, 2009. This follows the best year of giving to the university. The total given in FY 2008 was a historic $289 million. Read more...
Gifts in action
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Adopt A Room gifts aim to bring brighter days to sick children, families
Rich and Mary Ostlund hope their gift to Adopt A Room will brighten ill children’s days and will help keep families together during tough times for decades to come. “Adopted” rooms in the new U of M Amplatz Children's Hospital, scheduled to open in 2011, will be upgraded to include such family-friendly features as tables for eating dinner and doing homework, large-screen TVs for watching movies and connecting with school, and bedside consoles that let children control their environment.

Woman’s love for felines inspires gift to study human-animal bonds
When Kay Quam decided to make an estate plan, she made sure to include her philanthropic interests in animal welfare and rescue groups, but she also wanted her bequest to address a more fundamental problem: Why are shelters filled with so many unwanted animals, especially cats? Through an online search, she found the U’s Center to Study Human Animal Relationships and Environments, a national leader in promoting health and quality of life for people and animals.
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