Grants, financial aid and scholarships are reasons why some students are able to attend college. For many, a scholarship can be the deciding factor between attending one college or another. Brilliant Futures, a campaign to raise money by the University, has these students included in its goal to raise $1.5 billion by Dec. 31, 2011.

The campaign has reached 61.3 percent of its goal as of Dec. 31, 2007, said Pat Justice, assistant chancellor for development of the Office of Institutional Advancement.

“We are ahead of where we were projected to be at this point,” Justice said.

All three campuses are raising money for their respective schools, bringing the total goal to $2.25 billion. According to the University of Illinois Foundation Web site, state aid meets only about 20 percent of the total University budget with the remaining 80 percent from tuition, fees, grants and private donations.

The campaign is part of an effort to boost private funding to sustain a high quality education, according to the Web site.

The largest donation the school has received was from Tom Siebel and his wife, the same Siebel for whom the Siebel Center building at the University is named, Justice said. The Siebels’ donation amounted to $100 million and was mentioned during the public commencement of the campaign on June 1, 2007.

“We have a lot of alumni, friends of the University and corporations who provide gifts and grants to the University,” Justice said.

Faculty and staff have also chosen to give back to the University, she added.

Werner Baer, professor of economics, said he decided to give back to the University in the form of an endowment, called the Marianne and Peter Kilby Endowment.

“It started with a gift of $30,000; it’s grown to 45,000,” Baer said. “It’s named in honor of my sister and brother-in-law. The income is supposed to be used for the department of Latin American Studies to assist in the research and field research of faculty and (graduate) students doing research in Latin America.”

He said he gave the first installment of the endowment 10 to 15 years ago, and has added to it over time. An endowment is a good way to attract good professors to the University as well, he added.

“When you have an endowment like this, it calls attention to people who are looking to settle,” Baer said. “There’s always a shortage of funding, especially research funding. Some people like bricks and mortar and want to set up buildings in their names, which is fine, but we also need funding to aid in research.”

The University also receives a range of tangible gifts.

“We get stock, artwork and land, a wide range of gifts in that category,” Justice said.

Justice said she believes people donate because they believe in what the University represents and they want to be a part of it.

Carol Regalbuto, freshman in Engineering, said she came to the University because of its prestigious reputation and a scholarship offer; two things the campaign is working to sustain and improve.

As a student in Engineering, Regalbuto said she has no complaints. However, she said she believes other buildings need improvement.

“The women’s studies program is in a little house,” Regalbuto said.

Regalbuto said she views the campaign to be a good endeavor. When she becomes an alumna, she said she would love to give back as well.

“College is expensive,” she said, “I think that any program that’s going to benefit students, in terms of scholarships, is good.”