San Francisco Business Times

San Francisco State University raised $17 million in the 2011-12 school year, a 19 percent increase from the previous year, the school said Thursday.

The fund-raising effort comes at a time when California’s taxpayer-supported schools struggle under the weight of budget cuts and are faced with additional cuts if tax-raising measures aren’t passed in November.

“There is greater awareness that S.F. State needs private support to minimize the impact of reduced public funding,” Robert Nava, vice president for university advancement, said in a press release.