| 
By
David Anthony and Art McKinlay
 Following
numerous business successes, including careers in computer sales,
retail clothing, and currently, home building, Arizonians Ira and
Mary Lou Fulton have set their sights on building today's youth
into tomorrow's leaders. In the December 1, 2003 edition of BusinessWeek magazine in an article
titled “America’s Top Givers”, Ira and Mary Lou were listed as
the #42 most generous philanthropists in the country.
For
information on current opportunities to give to the Church’s humanitarian
efforts, Perpetual Education Fund and much more go to www.ldsfoundation.org
"How
many more tens of millions I'll give the university, I can't tell
you," says Arizona homebuilder and philanthropist Ira A. Fulton
of his generosity toward Brigham Young University. "As long
as its being used in the right place and the Lord blesses me in
my business, I know where the money goes. If things work out the
way I want them to, I'd like to say that by the time I'm ready to
retire that I've given hundreds of millions."
 In
recent years Ira and his wife, Mary Lou, have been very generous
with BYU—$50 million worth. On November 6, 2003 BYU announced that
its engineering college was being named the Ira A. Fulton College
of Engineering and Technology. "The Fultons have made many
significant contributions to BYU," says BYU President Cecil
O. Samuelson. "Indeed, they are among the most generous contributors
ever to the university. But Brother and Sister Fulton have not only
been generous with their own means, they have encouraged others
to contribute as well."
Ira
says their generosity is all about students—tomorrow's leaders—and
personal testimony. "The prophet asks me for something, and
he's got it," Ira says. "I feel that I'm just a custodian
of the blessings I have from heaven. And if I can help the next
generation of quality students prepare to make an impact when they
graduate, my efforts will have been worth it."
"Ira
is very much like a member of the family," said Doug Chabries,
dean of the newly renamed college. "He calls us up; he's interested
in what we're doing. He wants us to express our dreams and then
he wants us to achieve them, and so he holds us accountable as an
investment—not for what he wants to see—but for what we want to
see."
Commitment
President
Gordon B. Hinckley of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
learned of Ira's commitment just over three years ago. At the conclusion
of BYU's "Lighting the Way" capital campaign President
Hinckley asked donors if the total amount raised couldn't be rounded
up from the $380 million raised to an even $400 million. And before
the evening ended, Ira came forward and told the prophet quietly,
"You've got your additional $20 million." A bit surprised,
President Hinckley leaned to then-BYU president Merrill J. Bateman
and asked, "Is that man for real?"
Ira
A. Fulton is for real. And so is his generosity. And Arizona State
University, the Boy Scouts of America, BYU, BYU–Hawaii, Church Humanitarian
Services, the Perpetual Education Fund, and countless people blessed
by these and other organizations are glad it is so.
"Everything
I do, and everything I have, belongs to the young people . . . and
of course to the Lord," says Ira.
 Arizona
homebuilder, corporate mogul, entrepreneur, businessman, husband,
father, Latter-day Saint, and philanthropist—Ira A. Fulton is an
accomplished man.
Of
course wealth isn't a prerequisite for a giving heart—and the Fultons
exemplify that statement. Neither was born into wealth. Ira is the
youngest of seven children, raised from his teens by a single mother
who struggled to provide for a large family. Ira says as a child
what he wanted to be when he grew up was a good businessman, so
he could help his mother. Mary Lou, too, grew up in a family with
a lot of love but not a lot of money.
Excelled Since Youth
Ira
is a hard worker, and coupled with his drive to be a good businessman,
and his pace, he has excelled since his youth. At 18 Ira was the
top newspaper carrier for the Arizona Republic. And after
graduating from Tempe Union High School he procured a labor-intensive
summer job loading produce on freight trains that netted him a sizeable
sum of money and arms the size of Popeye's.
"I
figured the reason I had so much money was because I paid tithing
on what I earned. I gave the Lord 10 percent. . . . In my mind it
was an insurance policy," says Ira. "Money never possessed
me . . . it was only a way to make life easier for myself and others.
It was just a vehicle."
While
attending Arizona State College Ira met Mary Lou. They have been
married for nearly 50 years and are the parents of three children
and twelve grandchildren.
 Mary
Lou says that giving is just part of who Ira is. She tells of a
time when their children were small and money was tight. When she
saw Ira give their last $20 in cash to his ailing mother, she knew
they would have to forgo some things (including school shoes for
the children), but she also knew that Ira's mother truly needed
the money. "I think giving has been a habit with him since
day one," she says.
Throughout
his life Ira has succeeded in achieving his goals. He had a successful
career as a salesman for National Cash Register. He started and
sold several consulting businesses. He turned a struggling retail
business into a case-study success story. And he grew a small construction
company into Fulton Homes, one of Arizona's most successful homebuilders.
Fulton Homes
True
to its owner's nature, the literature of Fulton Homes proudly states:
At
Fulton Homes, we donate fifty percent of our profits to worthy causes.
Rather than having profits end up in the pockets of absentee stockholders,
these funds are primarily targeted toward enhancing the education
of today's young people. Tomorrow's citizens are Ira's passion,
and Fulton Homes is the vehicle used in making a life-changing difference
for them.
"You're
Proud to Own, and We're Proud to Build" is the motto of Fulton
Homes. It is a business model driven by quality and service to customers.
Some of the most beautiful communities with the greatest property
value in the greater Phoenix area are Fulton Homes' subdivisions.
Ira tells homebuyers, "Building a home is likely the single
largest investment you will make. Take your time; do the research.
We are confident that when all of the facts are in, you will become
the proud owner of yet another quality Fulton Home."
Quality
more than quantity is what Ira and Mary Lou are all about. As it
is in their business, for the Fultons, philanthropy is about treating
people right—about providing opportunities for and encouraging greatness.
Loves People
 "Ira
loves people, and it shows," says Bruce Snow, a director of
LDS Foundation and executive director of the BYU Development Office.
"He also loves getting them involved, never asking from others
what he is not willing to match himself. He is a get-it-done person,
and BYU's landscape for learning has vastly changed through his
efforts."
"I
became involved with the Y because of the caliber of faculty and
administrators there," says Ira. "I stay involved because
of the students—they are the finest I've ever met."
Mary
Lou agrees saying, "Seeing the goodness of the students—there's
nothing better."
The
Fultons' involvement at BYU has been extensive. It has been described
as significant and indelible. Among their many contributions to
the university are:
• Two of the fastest supercomputers in American higher education—named
in honor of Mary Lou—which are scheduled to be upgraded again next
year, further opening doors of opportunity for students and the
university. (See marylou.byu.edu.)
• Workstations for the BYU Center for Remote Sensing that have enabled
student and faculty research on icebergs, hurricanes, and other
phenomenon. Resulting data and analysis have been provided to NASA
and other government organizations. (See cers.byu.edu.)
• A scholarship fund at BYU–Hawaii that brings deserving students
from Mongolia and Cambodia to study in Laie. (To date, 22 students
have qualified for the scholarships.)
• Renovations of the12th-floor neuroscience labs in the Spencer
W. Kimball Tower, which enable psychology students to deepen and
improve their research.
• Media arts production and editing equipment that provides students
experience with cutting-edge technology. The result is improved
internship, career, and graduate school opportunities for BYU-educated
cinematographers, audio technicians, and multimedia creators.
• A state-of-the-art inventory system that not only improves the
BYU Museum of Art's collection management but also allows people
from all over the world to experience the museum's art collection
via the Internet at www.byu.edu/moa.
• Thesmophoria—a beautiful painting that is now part of the
Museum of Art's permanent collection. Created in the 1890s by Francis
Davis Millet as a study for a larger mural, Thesmophoria
is considered a perfect example of the beaux-arts mural tradition.
• More than 50 electric, golf cart-type vehicles, known as GEM cars,
now efficiently moving people and equipment at BYU, on other Church
educational campuses, and at Church headquarters in Salt Lake City.
• Support for the BYU School of Technology's construction management
and information technology programs, which have been streamlined
and improved to better prepare students for today's technology-driven
world. (See et.byu.edu/sot.)
•
Significant leadership and donations in support of fund-raising
efforts for the new Joseph F. Smith Building and the new Athletic
Complex—both buildings will be entirely funded by donors and will
improve the physical infrastructure of campus.
Ira
currently serves on the executive committee of the BYU President's
Leadership Council, a group of top-level donors who encourage and
facilitate giving to BYU.
Ira
and Mary Lou are known for their ability to make and keep friends.
Among those are the thousands of individuals blessed by the Fultons'
generosity. Many of these people, however, will never get to personally
thank Ira and Mary Lou.
 At
the BYU announcement ceremony of the new college name, students,
whose opportunity for education has improved because of the Fultons,
were able to shake hands, give hugs, and express thanks personally
to Ira and Mary Lou.
One
student said of his meeting the Fultons on that day, "I felt
as though they were my grandparents—they wanted to know my name,
what I was doing in school, and what they could do to help me meet
my goals. I don't think I have met more amicable and altruistic
people."
Author’s Insights
Dr. David Anthony is the associate dean of the Ira A.
Fulton College of Engineering and Technology at Brigham Young University.
His wife is a seminary teacher and they have five children.
Anthony
says of the Ira and Mary Lou:
"The
Fultons are two of the most wonderful people I have ever had the
pleasure of knowing. Their desire to assist young people gain the
best education possible is only surpassed by their desire to see
the Church grow and spread throughout the earth. They have the
vision to know that this goal can only be realized by supplying
the world with leaders whose moral and ethical standards set them
apart. They, also, have the faith to know that BYU, BYU–Hawaii,
and BYU–Idaho are collecting places for future leaders."
Even
though I am part of the Fulton College, I have never heard Brother
or Sister Fulton ask which college their donation is benefiting.
They only ask how many young people will be helped. They truly
understand the principle of charity and have blessed my life, as
well as the lives of many others, by their love and the sharing
of their excess."
Art
McKinlay works for LDS Foundation (www.ldsfoundation.org) as the director
of corporate and foundation relations in the BYU Development Office.
He and his wife are the parents of four children.
Of
his work, and the Fultons, McKinlay says:
"I
am blessed to count Ira and Mary Lou as friends—and examples. I
am lucky enough that in my work as a development officer, I get
to help people like Ira and Mary Lou fulfill their dreams. Generous
souls, like the Fultons—philanthropists (which means "lovers
of mankind")—understand and live the second great commandment.
Their dream is simply to help others succeed—to save and change
lives.
"My
favorite part of what I do is seeing the light that comes into the
eyes of a donor when they see their money at work blessing others
with opportunities. For the donor, giving is pure joy—the kind of
joy that simply accumulating money cannot provide. Again and again,
the Fultons have taught me this principle through their generosity
towards the students at BYU."
Click
here to sign up for Meridian's FREE email updates.
© 2004 Meridian
Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
|
