New project fundraising strategies: Mobilizing support through fact-based facility storytelling

As enrollment patterns and academic program priorities shift and evolve, higher education planners face increasing pressure to align future facility needs with scarce funding sources. This session details how the University of Colorado Boulder’s College of Engineering and Applied Science designed an effective feasibility and fund-raising package that turned complex planning data into a persuasive donor narrative. Session leaders outline strategies for translating planning metrics into compelling visual materials, defining space priorities that resonate with private funders, and crafting facility stories that secure investment for project-based learning environments even amid public funding uncertainty.