URC 52, UMass Dartmouth Foundation records

In 1967, SMTI formed the Educational Foundation Incorporated on a gift from Charles K. Rieger of 800 shares of the remaining stock in the Dartmouth Realty and Oil Trust, valued at $80,000. The Foundation received its charter from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and certified as a charitable-educational corporation as of January 26, 1967. The purpose of this Foundation was “to foster and promote excellence in education and research”. In 1973, SMU board of trustees voted to restructure the University’s development and fund-raising efforts with the creation of the Educational Foundation Inc. The Alumni Association began coordinating alumni functions, and graduates of the predecessor schools were merged into the unified organization. The University tried to compensate for lower state funding of its operating budget both through increased enrollment and through more professional fund-raising efforts among alumni and major donors. Since 1983, the SMU Foundation and the Alumni Association have enhanced their fundraising activities and seen total assets increase seven-fold to over $21 million dollars by 2005.