Fundraising for the last $100 million of the University’s WE DO campaign is officially underway. As of last weekend, $406,372,509 have been raised out of the $500 million goal.

Of the $406 million already committed, $117 million has gone toward the annual fund, $45 million to facilities, nearly $215 million to endowment, and around $30 million to other programs.

The annual fund, the University’s operating budget, is described by the WE DO campaign as “unrestricted annual gifts that address our areas of greatest need.” These donations, mostly given by parents and alumni, are usually in sums of less than $500 and last year totaled $12.4 million.

The campaign, which is scheduled to end in 2017, is the largest fundraising campaign in University history. Its original goal was to increase the University’s endowment and provide greater resources to campus programs.

The campaign’s fund allocation is centered around six initiatives, which are known as creative campus, global learning, human health, management education, residential learning, and sustainability. Future plans within these initiatives include the construction of an academic building, Academic East, and a new building for the College of Management.

As mentioned in an email to students from University President John Bravman, Bob Malesardi ’45 and his wife, Doris Malesardi, have pledged $20 million to fund need-based scholarships. The $20 million pledge is structured as a matching-gift program in a 1:2 ratio. This means that if an individual donation is greater than $100,000, half of the donation will be matched by the Malesardi pledge.

The process of fundraising is as simple as to “ask as many people as we can for as much as they can give,” Senior Development Advisor Mark Elliott said.

In the past, about 75 percent of pledges have come from University alumni. The Office of Development & Alumni Relations seeks people who are “interested in making a difference” in a certain area of campus life when raising funds for the campaign.

“We are thankful to all of the University supporters that have allowed us to exceed $400 million in gifts and pledges, and are very excited about sharing the campaign’s priorities with our constituencies as we strive to reach our one-half billion dollar goal,” Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations Scott Rosevear said.