The University’s Good Neighbors Campaign will draw to close Oct. 31 with a strong turnout being crucial to reaching this year’s goal of $1.1 million.

Campaign coordinators are urging individuals and academic units to surpass last year’s giving, which exceeded its goal of raising $1 million. Moreover, leaders on the Health Sciences Campus are challenging academic units to raise their participation rates, which hover as low as 10 percent.

In 2007, the USC School of Dentistry boasted the highest participation rate on the Health Sciences Campus, with 42 percent of the school giving to the campaign and raising $55,000. The School of Pharmacy mustered a 31 percent participation rate, with donations from the school reaching $14,000. The Keck School of Medicine raised $80,500, while only garnering a 10 percent participation rate, reflecting generous donations from a small number of donors.

USC Neighborhood Outreach (UNO), the non-profit organization funded by the Good Neighbors Campaign, was born from the desire to focus the University’s philanthropy efforts in the communities surrounding the Health Sciences and University Park campuses.

The campaign has raised more than $9 million since its inception 14 years ago.

Every dollar of contributions designated to USC Neighborhood Outreach is distributed to programs that benefit children and families living in the immediate neighborhoods around both campuses.

The programs support science, health, literacy and math education, as well as sports, arts and safety.

For information about the Good Neighbors Campaign, including a full list of programs funded, visit www.usc.edu/ext-relations/gnc.

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