UConn Advance - September 17, 2007 - More than $59 million raised last year to support University

The University of Connecticut Foundation Inc. received more than $59 million in philanthropic support during fiscal year 2007 to benefit the University’s faculty, students, and programs.

The preliminary financial year-end results continue the decade-long trend of strong private support for UConn.

The Foundation, the primary fund-raising vehicle to solicit and administer private gifts and grants that enhance the University’s mission, announced that:

The total amount raised during FY07 was $59.8 million, which included $49.6 million in new gifts and commitments, $3.4 million in revocable and deferred planned gifts, and $6.8 million in pledge payments.
Of the funds raised, $2 million was designated for faculty support, $8.3 million for scholarships, $23.9 million for programs, and $4.9 million for capital improvements. Support for UConn athletics totaled $20.7 million.
Approximately $13 million of the total was designated to support activities at the UConn Health Center in Farmington.
The Foundation’s annual fund, which is largely driven by direct mail solicitation, online donations, and a student-run phonathon, generated a record $4.6 million, which is a 17 percent increase over last year and double the amount raised in 2003.
The number of donor households totaled 33,041, and giving from two critical groups – alumni and parents – increased by 52 percent collectively.
Nearly 29 percent of the overall amount raised came from alumni. According to U.S. News & World Report data, UConn ranks in the top 13 percent among national public universities for alumni giving.
As of June 30, 2007, the University endowment stood at $336 million, a $37 million, or 12 percent, increase over 2006.

Endowment gains have outpaced relevant industry benchmarks for the past two-, three-, five-, and 10-year periods.

The endowment has grown $139 million, or 70.6 percent, over the past five years. In 1996, the endowment was $60 million.

“As we prepare for a major capital campaign next year, we are seeing both the need for increased private support for UConn and the remarkable ways in which the support of our alumni and friends is already transforming the University,” says John Martin, president of the UConn Foundation.

“Private giving is a catalyst for UConn to meet its potential.”

Several major gifts in the past year helped expand academic opportunities, revitalize the state’s natural history museum, and enhance Connecticut’s health care services.

The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History benefited from a transformational $1 million current and deferred private gift by Julia Budney.

Maurice Farber, professor emeritus of psychology, donated $2 million to support scholarships and fellowships in his former department.

A major new commitment from Foundation board member Alan Bennett, ’69, will build upon his ongoing support for political science faculty and allow for the first endowed honors professorship at UConn.

In Farmington, a gift of $2.5 million from Carole and Ray, ’56, ’01H Neag made the UConn Health Center the first New England facility scheduled to offer TomoTherapy, a new cancer treatment available at only about 150 locations worldwide.

The Health Center also benefited from a $1.25-million gift to establish the Lea’s Foundation Center for Hematological Disorders.

The University of Connecticut Foundation Inc.'s mission is to solicit, receive and administer gifts and financial resources from private sources for the benefit of all campuses and programs of the University.

It operates exclusively to promote the University’s educational, scientific, cultural, and recreational objectives.

More information is available online at http://www.foundation.uconn.edu.

More than $59 million raised last year to support University

Scholarships, faculty, programs benefit from philanthropy

by John Sponauer - September 17, 2007