Current and former members of Harvard's Governing Boards have established a $20 million challenge fund to spur donors to contribute to President Neil L. Rudenstine's discretionary fund.

As part of its $2.1 billion Capital Campaign, the University is trying to raise $125 million for the discretionary fund, known as the President's Academic Initiative (PAI) fund. To date they have come up with $66 million.

"It's important that Harvard have an unrestricted investment fund for the president to underwrite an activity that's not ready for other support," said Provost Harvey V. Fineberg '67.

The challenge fund, announced last weekend by the University's Governing Boards--the Board of Overseers and the Corporation--works by "matching" donors' gifts using an unrestricted fund.

Now, for every $2 given to the PAI, $1 will be taken from the challenge fund and added to the donation. The challenge fund works to attract donors by effectively increasing by 50 percent the donation given in their name.

The PAI was lagging behind other parts of the campaign, administrators said.

"I have deliberately held back [on fundraising for the PAI] until we got the schools close if not beyond their goals," Rudenstine said.

Giving to the PAI has been "very voluntary,"Rudenstine said, meaning donors were not solicitedto contribute to it.

According to Fineberg, the president has beenso reluctant that other administrators startedasking for donations on his behalf. Fineberg saidthe fund would also help the president make up forUniversity projects that had been less successfulin the capital campaign.

With only months remaining in the campaign, theFaculty of Arts and Sciences is the sole Harvardschool that has yet to reach its overall campaigngoal. Administrators say now it is time to make anall-out effort to raise the remaining funds forthe PAI.

"It provides the president with seed money forpromised academic projects," said Andrew K.Tiedemann, a spokesperson for the developmentoffice.

Tiedemann said he expects the PAI to reach itsgoal by campaign's end in December.

The entire $20 million for the fund from theGoverning Boards has already been pledged orgiven.

The PAI is part of the President's UniversityFund, a $235 million venture to raise money forcross-disciplinary projects, such as theinterfaculty initiatives, information technologyprojects and University-wide professorships