UB Seeks Southern Exposure for Its Campaign Efforts

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo's fund-raising campaign is going south -- to Naples, Fla. Carole Fenstermacher, director of gift planning for UB's Office of University Development, is establishing a regional office in Naples.

"It's an all-out effort to reconnect with our alumni, many of whom may not have spoken with a university representative in 20 or 30 years," says Fenstermacher, who is beginning her efforts with the 5,000 alumni living in southern Florida.

She adds: "We want to let these alumni know their alma mater continues to distinguish itself as a leader in research and education and how, like the other great public universities, it must seek alternative funding, including private philanthropy, in order to sustain its position as a world-class institution."

Fenstermacher also is working with the UB Office of Alumni Relations, helping to host social events and meetings for university graduates. The first event was a luncheon and a tour of "The Triumph of French Painting" exhibit at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach. Next on the schedule is a reception at the Colony Club on Longboat Key on March 26.

Her duties include identifying prospects, negotiating planned gifts and coordinating the regional development efforts for UB's $250 million campaign, the largest ever conducted by a public university in New York and New England. Although it's the fifth major fund-raising campaign conducted by UB, it's the first national/international campaign, the first university-wide campaign and the first to be alumni-driven with campaign volunteer leaders from all over the country. Funds raised will be used to enrich academic programs, support students ranging from undergraduates to post-doctoral students and to enhance university life.

Prior to joining UB in 1998, Fenstermacher was vice president and sales and marketing director of retirement plan services for the National City Bank in Cleveland, Ohio.

Her banking career spanned more than 20 years with major money centers and regional banks, including Manufacturers & Trade Trust Co., Marine Midland Bank (now HSBC) and Citibank, NA. Fenstermacher moved to financial services from advertising, where she worked for major agencies in both Canada and the United States.

A graduate of the University of Toronto, Fenstermacher also is an alumna of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Delaware, sponsored by the American Bankers Association. A frequent public speaker, she has appeared before the Bank Marketing Association, the American Compensation Association and many industry and community groups, presenting on the topics of planned giving and estate, investment and retirement planning.

For more information on the UB events, call Carole Fenstermacher at 941-254-8819, 941-272-3311 or email cfenster@buffalo.edu.

For information on how you can support the University at Buffalo, go to http://www.buffalo.edu/giving.