The University of Vermont Foundation set new records in its fundraising activities on behalf of the university during the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2016, surpassing historic milestones reached a year ago for both commitments and receipts from donors.
New fundraising commitments hit an all-time record of $76,758,513, surpassing the prior record — $60,576,278 reached in fiscal year 2015 — by some 26.7 percent. Commitments include new gifts, new pledges, and new bequests documented during the year.
Total receipts for the same period also reached a new record — $65,819,200 compared with the previous high of $40,457,925 set a year ago, a 62.7 percent increase. Receipts include new gifts, payments on current and prior years’ pledges, and realized bequests. A total of $3,051,193, or 4.6 percent of receipts, came in the form of realized bequests.
“Fiscal 2016 was in every way imaginable an extraordinary year for the University of Vermont," said UVM Foundation President and CEO Richard Bundy. "It was the fifth consecutive year of record-setting fundraising for UVM. That momentum comes at a perfect time, as we went public last fall with our $500 million Move Mountains campaign, for which we have now surpassed the $300 million mark with three years to go.”
Move Mountains: The Campaign for The University of Vermont was publicly launched in October 2015 to support four strategic areas of focus — student access and affordability, faculty endowments, new and renovated facilities, and academic programs.
The year was highlighted by two extraordinary philanthropic contributions. The first, announced in conjunction with the campaign launch in October, was a $20 million, multi-year pledge by Steven Grossman ’61 and the Grossman Family Foundation, to endow three academic chairs and to create a dean's endowment to support teaching and academic priorities in the newly renamed Grossman School of Business. That commitment was followed in April by Dr. Robert (’39, MD’42) and Helen Larner’s $19.7 million gift to the College of Medicine, the largest one-time gift in UVM history, to advance medical education programs in the UVM College of Medicine.
Of the total new commitments, more than two-thirds — $52.8 million — was given or pledged to Academic Health Sciences designations: $40.6 million to the College of Medicine, $9.3 million to the UVM Medical Center, and $2.9 million to the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
Overall, $9.7 million was given for student scholarship support, $4.5 million for endowed chairs and professorships, $3.5 million for facilities and $49.7 million for support of academic and other programs. Endowed funds accounted for $43.9 million of total commitments. The $9.7 million contributed to student scholarships supports UVM President Tom Sullivan’s top strategic priority of keeping a UVM education affordable for students.
More than $1 million in online contributions were made to UVM in FY2016. Graduates of the class of 2015 had the highest class participation rate from any class in the last 20 years.
“We extend our sincere thanks to the more than 23,000 donors whose growing support helps us to realize our strategic priorities," said Tom Sullivan. "These include 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. The impact of philanthropy is felt in every aspect of what makes this university a world-class public teaching and research institution.”
Sullivan has also stressed the importance of attracting and retaining outstanding faculty. A $3 million gift from Holly and Bob Miller of Burlington, Vt., established the Miller Chair in Palliative Medicine — the 100th endowed faculty position at the time of the gift. The University now has 102 endowed chairs and professorships, up from 52 when Sullivan started his tenure at UVM in 2012.
Capital projects receiving support in fiscal 2016 included the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Complex, Billings Library Renovation, Kalkin Hall expansion, Alumni House, and the UVM Medical Center's new inpatient facility, the Robert E. and Holly D. Miller Building.
About The University of Vermont Foundation
The University of Vermont Foundation is a nonprofit corporation established to secure and manage private support for the benefit of the University of Vermont. The Foundation is currently engaged in a comprehensive campaign with four strategic priorities: student access and scholarship; faculty research and support; student-centered programs; and long-term investments in the physical campus. Move Mountains: The Campaign for The University of Vermont seeks to raise $500 million in private support and assert UVM's position as one of the nation's best public research universities. For further information about giving to UVM, contact the University of Vermont Foundation, 411 Grasse Mount, Burlington VT 05401; 802-656-2010, www.uvmfoundation.org, email foundation@uvm.edu.