Despite the economic slowdown that caused several recent budget cuts, figures show private funding to Penn State has slightly increased.

For the fiscal year ending June 30, the total number of private donations increased about half a percent, from $180,007,000 in 2002 to $181,003,000 in 2003.

The surge in donations follows a decrease of more than a half-million dollars from 2001 to 2002.

Peter Weiler, associate vice president for development and alumni relations, said the rise in private donations has grown in importance because the university realized financial support from the state would not be sufficient in offsetting rising tuition costs.

State appropriations for this academic year are expected to decrease by 5 percent, and in July the Penn State Board of Trustees approved a $788 increase in university tuition.

The state legislature has yet to finalize appropriations for the current school year.

William Kinder (sophomore-chemical engineering) said he thinks continuing private funding at Penn State is "awesome" since it helps pay for his tuition.

"This is something Ed Rendell and the state government can't do cause they keep lowering the percentage of budget money to pay for my education," he said.

Weiler said while some funding is geared to offset rising tuition costs, most donors want to see their gifts fund projects in specific colleges.

Megan West (senior-marketing) said after she graduates she would probably donate to her college, the Smeal College of Business, or the Panhellenic Dance Marathon.

"A good way to give back is through giving money and donating," West said. "But I'd want to make the contribution to a specific cause so I saw where the money was going."

Penn State had a lot of donors who were intimidated by the wavering state of the economy, Weiler said.

"In a lot of cases, philanthropy was down nationwide," Weiler said. "So we were pretty encouraged when we were able to exceed last year's total [number in donations.]"

The increase in private funding will be given in "bits and pieces" to areas such as the Smeal College of Business' new building and faculty and program support for the School of Information and Sciences and Technology, he said.

Michael Bezilla, director of development communications and special projects, said private support is not a replacement for state funds.

Penn State's Grand Destiny campaign was a 7-year fundraising project that ended July 30. It raised $1.371 billion in private donations, surpassing the campaign's goal of $1.3 billion. Bezilla said there was "a nice balance" between 165,000 individuals and organizations that had never previously given gifts to the university.

Weiler said during the next four years fundraising will focus on areas of student financial need, individual colleges, quality of faculty, the Hershey Medical Center and intercollegiate activities.

Weiler said while tuition and state support may "keep the lights on," Penn State counts on alumni and friends to provide additional funding for new programs.

"For instance, the Rock Ethics Institute is a program that brings scholars and students in the business community together to discuss and debate ethical issues," he said.

The Lion Line is an organization that hires students to recruit alumni, parents and organizations to make privately funded donations. Mike Cipriani, director of the organization, said this year marked a record four consecutive years of alumni donors.

Cipriani said he thinks the steady rise in donations is a result of awareness raised by the Grand Destiny campaign and the recruitment of younger generations of donors.

The Lion Line deals predominantly with alumni who want to give back to their college or major, Cipriani said.

Meredith Steer (senior-public relations) said she was given a privately-funded grant by the Schreyer Honors College to study abroad last spring and would think about giving back to the university in the future.

"If someone who was a part of either Schreyer or the Lion Line asked me to make a donation I would consider," Steer said.

"There are certain things you can do with state funds that you cant do with private support such as pay your electric and water bill," Bezilla said. "And there's such things you can do with private [funds] -- like endowment for a professorship."

Weiler said the retention rate among first-time donors is quite high.

"My guess is that we will retain about 80 percent of our new donors," Weiler said.