YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Cafaro family has donated $3 million to Youngstown State University toward the ongoing Kilcawley: Centered on the Future campaign.
The gift puts the Cafaro family into the Penguin Pinnacle, YSU’s highest notable giving society for donors to the university of $5 million or greater.
“We are thankful and deeply grateful for the Cafaro family’s continued support of our university,” YSU President Bill Johnson said. “This gift reflects their dedication to YSU’s student community and further acknowledges their belief in the critical role YSU plays in the social, cultural and economic vitality of our region.”
William A. Cafaro, co-president of The Cafaro Co., is the grandson of company founder William M. Cafaro and son of former company president Anthony Cafaro Sr.
“We are so very pleased to continue our longtime support of YSU,” he said. “I remember with pride how my grandfather made the donation that supported the creation of Cafaro House on campus. We are thrilled to be able to help the university move the Kilcawley Center into the future.”
The Cafaro Foundation is a charitable entity established in memory of William M. Cafaro and his wife, Alyce, by their children, Anthony M. Cafaro Sr., John J. Cafaro and Flora M. Cafaro. For more than a half-century, William, Alyce and brother John A. Cafaro supported churches, schools, hospitals and other charitable causes. The Cafaro Co. is one of the nation’s largest privately held real estate development firms, having developed more than 30 million square feet of buildings in 14 states.
The Cafaros’ support for YSU dates to the 1960s. William M. Cafaro was a key advocate for Youngstown University becoming a state public university in 1968. He also was one of the founders and one of the first board members of the YSU Foundation. William’s son, Anthony Sr., is a 1968 graduate of YSU, formerly a member of the board of the YSU Foundation and a trustee emeritus of the foundation. Anthony’s wife, Phyllis, served on the campaign cabinet for the recently completed YSU Centennial Capital Campaign. Anthony and Phyllis’ sons, Anthony Jr. and William, a 1992 YSU graduate, now lead the company as co-presidents.
John J. Cafaro and his wife, Jan, have also been ardent supporters of the university, and their daughter, Capri Cafaro, is a YSU Foundation trustee and former YSU trustee.
“As campaign chair, I am extremely grateful for this generous and transformative gift from the Cafaro Foundation, which comes at a critical time in our campaign,” said Scott Schulick, Kilcawley: Centered on the Future Campaign chairman. “The Cafaro family understands and appreciates the connection between the advancement of YSU and our region’s economic development. They are longtime friends of the university, with a legacy begun by the late William Cafaro, who was instrumental in the development of Youngstown State University. This gift shines as an example and a challenge to our community to make a renovated Kilcawley Center a reality for our students and community.”