The University of Vermont Foundation set new records in its fundraising activities on behalf of the university during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015, surpassing last year’s historic milestones for both commitments and receipts from donors.
New fundraising commitments broke the $60 million mark for the first time in UVM history. Total commitments to UVM reached $60,576,278 as of June 30, 2015, compared with $55,248,575 in the same period a year ago, an increase of 9.6 percent over last year’s record mark. Commitments include new gifts, new pledges, and new bequests documented during the year.
Twelve of the new commitments were for $1 million or more, for a record-setting total of $30.3 million.
Total receipts for the same period also reached a new record — $40,457,925 compared with the previous high of $37,119,156 set a year ago, an 8.9 percent increase. Receipts include new gifts, payments on current and prior years’ pledges, and realized bequests. A total of $15,020,321 or 37 percent of receipts, came in the form of realized bequests.
“Fiscal 2015 was the fourth consecutive year of record-setting fundraising for the UVM Foundation,” said foundation president and CEO Richard Bundy. “That is a testament to our donors and their commitment to UVM’s mission and values. And it speaks volumes about the quality of the people who work at the foundation.”
Of the more than $60 million in new commitments, $14,096,241 was given for student scholarship support, $4,307,657 for endowed chairs and professorships, $6,673,951 for facilities, and $35,298,627 for support of academic and other programs. A total of $31,836,001 was committed to endowed funds.
“This growing support helps us to realize our strategic priorities: ensuring the academic excellence we need to compete as a leading public research university, keeping a UVM education accessible and affordable, attracting and retaining outstanding faculty and students and continually improving our facilities,” said UVM president Tom Sullivan. “The impact of philanthropy is felt in every aspect of what makes this university an exceptional place of learning and discovery.”
The $14.1 million contributed to student scholarships — a 36.8 percent increase over last year’s $10.3 million — supports Sullivan’s top strategic priority of keeping a UVM education affordable for students.
Sullivan has also stressed the importance of attracting and retaining outstanding faculty, an aspiration advanced by $4.3 million donated to create seven new endowed faculty positions in fiscal 2015.
Capital projects receiving support in fiscal 2015 included the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Complex, Billings Library Renovation, Kalkin Hall expansion, Alumni House, and Multi-purpose Event Center.
Of the 23,371 donors — an increase of 7.9 percent over last year and the highest number of donors since the launch of the foundation in January 2012 — 8,838 were undergraduate alumni of the university. That represents a 5.9 percent increase over last year and is the first increase in undergraduate alumni donors in more than a decade, bucking a long-term national trend of declining alumni participation.