Based on its fundraising success over the past year, Missouri State University has won the 2009 CASE-WealthEngine Award for educational fundraising. The award honors “superior fundraising programs” across the country as part of CASE’s (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education) Circle of Excellence program.

“We are very honored to receive this national award,” said Brent Dunn, vice president for university advancement. “I credit our alumni and development staff, our Foundation Board of Directors and the thousands of donors that volunteer their financial resources and support higher education. Ultimately it is our students that benefit from the generosity of the support.”

Missouri State was selected for the award based on an analysis of fundraising data. A panel of judges selected winners based on several factors, including a pattern of growth in total support, overall breadth in program areas, pattern of donor growth, the impact of the 12 largest gifts on total support and more.

Including Missouri State, five schools won in the Public Comprehensive Institution category. The others were Appalachian State, Cal-State-Long Beach, Northern Iowa and Washburn.

In his notification letter to the university, CASE President John Lippincott wrote, “Your institution has not only demonstrated the highest levels of professionalism and best practices in its fundraising efforts, it has contributed to the betterment of educational advancement worldwide.”

Last year, the Missouri State University Foundation’s gifts and commitments totaled a record $14,050,400, which surpassed the previous all-time high of $11,826,286 (set in 2005-06) by more than $2 million.