A fundraising campaign seven years in the making at Binghamton University culminates with an announcement of the grand total Thursday. YNN's Chris Whalen tells us how much BU raised and what the money will be used for.

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VESTAL, N.Y. -- Applause rang out at Binghamton University when President Harvey Stenger announced Thursday that the Bold.Brilliant.Binghamton campaign exceeded its $100 million goal.

"I think it was exciting because we knew it was going to be hard work, but people just jumped on that opportunity," Stenger said.

The fundraiser began in 2005 with a goal of $95 million, but after that amount was nearly secure, the University decided to up the ante with a goal of $100 million.

Thursday, Stenger revealed the final tally to be $101,219,372. Money that will go to fund a variety of projects at BU.

"Some are designated toward programs to enhance faculty members’ research, to give a student a special experience, a scholarship, study abroad programs," Stenger said.

Those close to Binghamton University say investments such as these that will continue to keep the campus community connected with the local community just down the road.

"Many years ago in a place like Binghamton, there was more diversity of industry, more of an economic base, the University has replaced a lot of that and the University has really had to make up for some of those losses," said BU alum, Paul Turovsky.

The presence of BU within the region continues to evolve with the downtown center, as well as a number of student housing complexes. With the continuation of fundraising efforts, Binghamton the City and Binghamton the University will likely become even more intertwined.

"The success of both of them is what's crucial here. The University is not going to be successful unless the community continues to be successful and the same can be said in reverse," Turovsky said.

The next yet-to-be-named campaign is already in the works, as a donation of more than a million dollars was made just before Thursday's press conference.