When approaching the holidays, people often embrace the spirit of giving, and BU was the recipient of a very generous donation. An anonymous couple donated $50,000 for BU’s 50th anniversary as a university, as Brandon College was renamed Brandon University in 1967. The couple wrote on the donation form, “Happy Birthday BU!”.

The couple has requested the $15,000 of their donation go towards establishing an endowment for students in the School of Music. This endowment fund will help cover travel expenses, instrument repairs, and practice studios among various other costs associated with the music program. The remainder of this gift will be used to establish an endowment fund for students in other faculties. One donor spoke highly of BU: “Brandon University is a high-quality jewel, a treasure. I want to honour the people at BU.

Dean of Music, Greg Gatien was delighted by the generosity of the donors, saying, “This is a wonderful reminder that the School of Music and Brandon University are able to reach people in such meaningful ways that they make generous donations like this. Our donors do so much to help us, support us, and inspire us. This gift means so much to our faculty and students, and will be a great help to them as they strive towards their musical goals.”

Earlier this year, the 50th Year Fund was created to allow donors to choose which faculties they wished to donate to. There was also a fund established for the Brandon College Heritage Fund to preserve the history and archives of the College. This was of significant donations, as the BU President’s Administrative Council have pledged a total of $50,000 to the Brandon University Foundation in response to the BU50 staff and faculty fundraising appeal. Donors who make a financial contribution to the university on or before December 31st will receive a charitable tac receipt for 2017, while those after January 1st will be written as 2018 charitable tax receipt.