LETTER: UNLV lucky to have the Engelstad Foundation as a generous donor

In response to Steve Sebelius’s Dec. 29 column, “Donations with chains attached”:

I served as vice president of advancement at UNLV for nine years from 2007-2016. One of our most generous donors was the Engelstad Foundation. During my tenure, it endowed the largest scholarship program at UNLV, which provides students with 100 undergraduate scholarships each year. In addition it provided $10 million in scholarships for the first two classes of students at the new medical school, which helped convince legislators to fund the new school. In addition the foundation has provided support for not only university programs but dozens of nonprofit organizations.

The Engelstad Foundation is very strategic in investing its gifts. It wants to make sure the investments are making maximum impact. I worked very closely with the foundation, and I never felt that it placed “strings” on its generous gifts.

Today more than 95 percent of all gifts in higher education come restricted and are targeted for specific purposes. Donors want to see impact. My job for the past 35 years as a chief fundraiser at five major public universities was to match donor interests with university and student needs. I have had to refuse numerous gifts because of too many donor restrictions. I never encountered that issue with the Engelstad Foundation.

UNLV and the Las Vegas community are extremely fortunate to have the Engelstad Foundation as generous benefactors who have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to worthy local causes.