The Bloomsburg University Foundation

What The Bloomsburg University Foundation does

The Bloomsburg University Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (Tax ID 23-7088491) that serves as the primary philanthropic arm for Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg, part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). Founded in 1839, the foundation manages charitable giving operations including annual and endowed scholarships, professional experience grants, planned giving vehicles, and corporate sponsorships, raising $11.3 million in new gifts and pledges in FY2024-25 from 4,656 donors. The foundation concluded The Campaign for Bloomsburg: It Starts With Us in July 2026, having raised over $103.7 million from 19,432 donors, making it the most successful fundraising effort in Bloomsburg's history.

The foundation's product portfolio spans ten core offerings including named scholarships (annual gifts of $12,000+ and endowed gifts of $25,000+), Professional Experience Grants supporting internships and research, the Bloom On Fund for immediate student needs, the Henry Carver Scholars annual recognition program ($1,867+ annually), corporate sponsorships, crowdfunding via GiveGab, and a suite of planned giving instruments. In June 2025, the foundation launched an AI-powered virtual engagement officer named Elizabeth to handle text-based donor conversations. Distribution operates through a 49-person staff across university advancement, alumni engagement, development operations, finance, and real estate management, supported by a board including senior executives from Apple, Geisinger, JD Fields, and Datacap Systems.

Revenue mechanics combine one-time major gifts, recurring annual fund donations, multi-year pledge commitments, planned bequests, and corporate sponsorships, with pricing tiers ranging from $1,867 annual leadership gifts to $5M+ transformational endowment gifts. The foundation disbursed a record $8.3 million in scholarships and grants to students in 2024-25, supporting 1,285 scholarships for 829 students, with 86% of full-time undergraduate students receiving financial assistance and 30% of incoming first-year students being first-generation college attendees. State funding decline from 65% (1984) to 20% of university revenues has positioned private philanthropy as critical to institutional sustainability.

Name

The Bloomsburg University Foundation

Legal name

Bloomsburg University Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://giving.bloomu.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1839

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Bloomsburg University Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit that raises and stewards philanthropic funds for Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg, managing scholarships, grants, planned giving, and corporate sponsorships that disbursed a record $8.3M to students in FY2024-25.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Fundraising and Philanthropy

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fundraising & Annual Giving (EDALAOAB), Capital Campaign Management & Advancement Strategy (EDALAOAN), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Higher education fundraising
• Scholarship endowment management
• Planned giving programs
• Corporate philanthropy partnerships
• Alumni donor engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

Bloomsburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Gifts: The foundation receives charitable donations from alumni, individual donors, corporations, and organizations to support scholarships, professional experiences, and university programs. Gifts include annual fund donations, endowed scholarships, major gifts, and planned giving arrangements.
2. Campaign Fundraising: Major multi-year capital campaigns like The Campaign for Bloomsburg: It Starts With Us with a $100 million goal, raising funds through pledges, bequests, and multi-year commitments for scholarships and facilities.
3. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate partners sponsor scholarships, programs, and events at Bloomsburg University in exchange for recognition and access to talent pipeline.
4. Planned Giving: Bequests, charitable gift annuities, IRA rollovers, beneficiary designations, life estates, and charitable lead trusts provide deferred giving opportunities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Bloomsburg University Foundation is the charitable fundraising arm of Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg. It solicits and stewards donations from alumni, individuals, corporations, and estates to fund scholarships, professional experience grants, academic programs, facilities, and student support services. The foundation administers Annual Scholarships, Endowed Scholarships, Professional Experience Grants (PEGs), the Bloom On Fund, Planned Giving vehicles, Corporate Sponsorships, and Crowdfunding, and runs major multi-year capital campaigns such as "The Campaign for Bloomsburg: It Starts With Us."

Product overview

The Bloomsburg University Foundation operates as a comprehensive fundraising and charitable giving organization supporting Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg. The foundation's core offerings include The Campaign for Bloomsburg: It Starts With Us (a landmark $100 million initiative exceeding $103.7 million), Scholarships (Annual and Endowed programs providing over $2 million annually to 1,400+ students), Professional Experience Grants (PEGs) for experiential learning, the Bloom On Fund for immediate student needs, Planned Giving options for legacy support, Corporate Sponsorships, Crowdfunding opportunities, and the Henry Carver Scholars recognition program. The foundation recently launched an AI-Powered Engagement Pilot featuring a virtual engagement officer named Elizabeth to enhance donor interactions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bloom On Fund: Immediate-need student support fund providing scholarships, internship travel funds, and emergency assistance.
• Henry Carver Scholars

Products and services

• Annual Scholarships Immediate-use named scholarships funded with a gift of $12,000 or more; funds are disbursed to student recipients in the semester immediately following donation. Available to donors seeking short-term, high-visibility impact.
• Endowed Scholarships Perpetual named scholarships established with a minimum principal gift of $25,000, either as a single gift or annual installments over five years. Principal is invested; a portion of earnings funds scholarships in perpetuity.
• Professional Experience Grants (PEGs) Donor-created grants that offset the cost of experiential learning including faculty-mentored research, internships, study abroad, creative performances, and professional conference attendance for CU-Bloomsburg students.
• Bloom On Fund An immediate-need fund providing real-time support for students facing urgent financial situations, including scholarships for extra classes, travel to internships, and conference fees.
• Planned Giving Legacy giving programs including bequests, charitable gift annuities, IRA rollovers, beneficiary designations, life estates, and charitable lead trusts that create perpetual support for future students.
• Corporate Sponsorships Corporate partnership opportunities providing scholarships and access to high-impact learning opportunities for BU students, with benefits including brand exposure to future professionals.
• Crowdfunding Online fundraising platform enabling donors to support specific causes, student projects, and initiatives with small donations to causes of their choice via the GiveGab platform.
• Henry Carver Scholars Program Prestigious annual giving recognition program for donors making annual gifts of $1,867 or higher, named after the university's first president Henry Carver, with personal stewardship and recognition events.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $8.3 million in scholarships and grants dispersed to students in 2024-25
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Geisinger HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 July 2025Geisinger Health invested $200,000 in Bloomsburg's Nursing Simulation Center. The gift is recognized through naming of clinical training spaces—the Population Health Lab and Peri-Operative Lab—within the Center. This partnership supports healthcare education and creates pathway for graduates to enter local healthcare workforce.
• UPMCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 August 2024UPMC committed $200,000 to support the Nursing Simulation Center at CU-Bloomsburg. This investment in nursing education strengthens the healthcare talent pipeline for the regional healthcare system.
• First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania (FCFP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 2024FCFP granted $25,000 to support the Nursing Simulation Center, expanding program technology and enhancing clinical placement opportunities at partner hospitals for nursing students.
• Enterprise HoldingscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor supporting the ZIPD Conference and Zeigler College of Business student development through annual sponsorships and talent acquisition engagement.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Penn State University Foundation: The dominant university-affiliated foundation in Pennsylvania, managing a multi-billion-dollar endowment for Penn State. Provides the upper-bound benchmark for what scaled Pennsylvania public-university fundraising can achieve and represents the competitive ceiling for alumni-major-gift solicitation in the state.

Direct peers

• Millersville University Foundation: PASSHE university foundation running scholarship, endowment, and annual giving programs for Millersville University. Operates under identical state appropriation dynamics and serves a similar mid-size regional public-university student population.
• Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania Foundation (consolidated): The emerging consolidated foundation entity covering Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Mansfield campuses under Commonwealth University. Represents the integrated fundraising platform that Bloomsburg's foundation is increasingly part of and a direct comparator for governance and campaign execution.
• Lock Haven University Foundation: Foundation supporting Lock Haven University, which merged with Bloomsburg to form Commonwealth University in 2022. The closest organizational peer because both foundations now jointly support the same multi-campus Commonwealth University system and overlapping alumni bases.
• Kutztown University Foundation: PASSHE university foundation of comparable scale that administers scholarships, capital campaigns, and planned giving for Kutztown University. Same state system, same operating environment, similar donor demographics and scholarship economics.
• Mansfield University Foundation: Foundation for Mansfield University, the third legacy institution consolidated into Commonwealth University. Operates within the same consolidated advancement structure and faces the same post-merger fundraising integration challenges as Bloomsburg.
• West Chester University Foundation: PASSHE university foundation supporting West Chester University through endowed and annual scholarships, capital campaigns, and alumni giving. Functions under the same governance and financial-aid pressures as Bloomsburg within the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.
• Slippery Rock University Foundation: Foundation for Slippery Rock University, another PASSHE institution of comparable scale and student demographics. Runs the same mix of endowed scholarships, capital campaigns, planned giving, and corporate sponsorships targeting regional employers.
• Shippensburg University Foundation: PASSHE peer foundation of similar size and scope administering scholarships, planned giving, and annual campaigns for Shippensburg University. Comparable donor base, scholarship economics, and state-funding exposure.
• Indiana University of Pennsylvania Foundation: Sister PASSHE system university foundation supporting IUP students through scholarships, endowments, and annual giving. Operates under the same state-funding dynamics and serves a comparable regional public-university student population, making it the closest structural peer to Bloomsburg.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheBUFoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/bufoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-bloomsburg-university-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/bufoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Bloomsburg University Foundation