In October 2001, William H. Gates addressed a group of about 90 friends and fellow UW contributors at a dinner at the UW president’s mansion. The economy was suffering after the attack on the World Trade Center the month before, yet Gates gave an impassioned speech about why he was agreeing to chair the largest fundraising campaign ever put forth by a public school of $2 billion.

His words made most of the people in the room cry, said Maggie Walker, a major contributor and active UW fundraiser.

“It was one of those moments that was really good. No one was kicking or screaming,” she said.

There was strong support for the Creating Futures campaign, which is so big that many involved forget its title. The campaign, started in July 2000, is set to end in July 2008.

Despite a shaky start, fundraisers reached their goal by January 2007, and then set a new goal of $2.5 billion. By the end of February 2008 the UW reached the $2.6 billion mark.

And while most people’s heads are spinning with the numbers — 2.6 billion seconds ago was the 1920s — others ask why people are willing to give.

“Do they get tax write-offs? Yes. Is that a motivation to give? No,” said Greg Sheridan, associate vice president of constituency programs in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations.

For at least 90 percent of givers, tax write-offs have nothing to do with it, Sheridan said.

Gates added that tax breaks do little for large donors, though he surmises that giving would drop somewhat if the tax benefit were appealed.

Gates is a UW alumnus from 1950, and has helped with fundraising since the late ‘80s with his wife, Mary Gates, who died in 1994. When she passed, Gov. Mike Lowry offered Gates her position on the Board of Regents, which is described by some as the highest form of involvement an alumnus can offer.

“It’s a warm memory, that we were involved here together,” he said. “It was an attraction to me to follow her.”

People typically fall under two categories for giving to the UW, Gates said. They’ve either graduated from the UW and have affection and an indebtedness to the school, or they aren’t UW alumni but believe strongly in the work a specific program is doing.

“It’s just the fact that I went here. … I think it’s a great school,” Gates said. “I think maybe it is the affection.”

A large part of the UW philosophy behind donating is giving to specific causes. Many people see giving to the UW as a black hole, but the UW’s administration has focused on letting people know they can give to specific causes, Walker said.

Ninety-nine percent of the money given to UW is restricted to specific purposes, Sheridan said.

“If we said, ‘Give us the money and trust us’ we wouldn’t have nearly as much money,” he said. “The thing about this philosophy is I’m connecting the donor with your passions.”

Donors can be very specific, Sheridan said, sometimes donating to a specific history exhibit at the Burke.

Walker, a 1974 and 1988 alumna, started helping the UW raise funds in 1989, when the Henry Art Gallery made an addition to its building.

“I just sort of became a professional board member,” Walker said, adding that she finds her work at the UW intellectually stimulating.

Walker and her husband, Doug Walker, who once owned a successful software company, gave three professor endowments.

Endowments work differently from traditional giving, in that the actual endowment money is never touched.

Instead, the money is invested. Then a certain percentage of the profit from the investment is given to the beneficiary of the endowment. The rest remains unused.

The benefits of endowments are that they continue to give to the UW throughout time. In 50 years, the endowments received today will continue to benefit the UW.

Although endowments are given to different causes, they are often given for student scholarships and to professors, who can use the money for research or classroom equipment.

“Faculty find it validating,” Maggie Walker said. “It’s more about recognition.”

The Walkers gave an endowment for a math professor, one for a history professor and one for a professor of the dean’s choosing. The endowments are usually more than $100,000 each.

About half of UW donors aren’t alumni, Sheridan said. Many give just to support the Seattle community.

“It’s kind of a Northwest ethic,” he said, “bringing a richness to this community.”

Maggie Walker agreed.

“It’s fun to give something that makes a difference. It’s why people give,” she said.

Gates recognized that people give because they want to be recognized by their peers, but he said most had stronger reasons for giving than socialization. Walker said because Seattle has a lot of new money, donating for the sake of socialization is not as big of motivator as it might be on the East coast.

When naming buildings after people, it’s not just about the significant contribution the person has made at UW, Sheridan said.

“We … review it to make sure its good for the University,” he said.

For example, they wouldn’t consider naming the business school for Enron, he said. The school was named for the late Michael G. Foster, “a businessman that was so respected in Seattle.”

The UW’s law school building was named for Gates, who was a prominent Seattle lawyer.

“My son made a large contribution to the building campaign,” Gates said, adding that his son named the building in honor of him. “It’s what he said, and I believe him.”

Gates was surprised to learn of his son’s donation.

“To have a child to have a sense of generosity to do that is very affecting,” he said.

[Reach reporter Celeste Flint at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]