For the second year in a row, Kansas University has received a prestigious national award for fundraising.

The award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, or CASE, recognized KU for raising $432.1 million over a three-year period.

The award places KU among the top four public research and doctoral institutions in the country with endowments over $250 million.

“We are gratified and humbled to be selected for this prestigious award and to be in the company of such renowned institutions,” said Dale Seuferling, president of the KU Endowment Association, the fundraising and fund management arm of the university.

The other three universities to receive the award this year were the University of California – Berkeley; the University of Virginia; and the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Of those, only KU and Berkeley were repeat winners from last year, Seuferling said.

In addition to the amount of money raised, KU officials said CASE also considers growth in total support, the influence of the 12 largest gifts, and growth in each program area.

Institutions are not allowed to apply for the awards, KU officials said. Judges make their selections based on a blind study of national data reported by the institutions.

Seuferling added that the award is based only on money raised through private philanthropy and does not include federal grants or other government-backed research awards.

He added that the gifts count toward KU’s comprehensive fundraising campaign, “Far Above: The Campaign for Kansas.” That campaign formally kicked off in April 2012 with a goal of raising $1.2 billion for the university.

“The University of Kansas is among an exceptional group of universities being honored for the effectiveness and professionalism of their fundraising campaigns,” CASE president John Lippincott said. “Our expert panel of judges reviewed performance data from the last three years and found KU had a sustained and enviable record of success.”