THE CAMPAIGN CLOSES,
NEW CHALLENGES AWAIT
$1.45 BILLION RECEIVED FROM DONORS BY THE CLOSE OF THE CAMPAIGN
1,030 NEW SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS CREATED
528 NEED-BASED GEORGIA COMMITMENT SCHOLARSHIPS CREATED
$134.1M GIVEN TO NEW ENDOWMENT SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS
900,000 SQUARE FEET OF NEW LEARNING AND ACTIVITY SPACE CREATED
72 EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING FUNDS CREATED
94 NEW ENDOWED FACULTY POSITIONS CREATED
36 NEW ASSISTANTSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP FUNDS CREATED
WHEN THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA LAUNCHED THE PUBLIC PHASE OF THE COMMIT TO GEORGIA CAMPAIGN…
We called on Bulldogs everywhere to help us remove barriers to higher education, enhance the learning environment, and solve the grand challenges of our state and world.
We set an ambitious goal—$1.2 billion by 2020—and the result was something amazing: UGA donors gave $1.45 billion, more than any fundraising campaign in the history of the University.
That amount came from 175,488 donors, who hailed from all 50 states and 62 countries. Among those donors are 93,320 alumni, 8,428 current and former employees, and 15,321 students. Everything they gave had an impact: from a single $30 million gift from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation that inspired the Georgia Commitment Scholarship program to the 354,504 gifts of $100 or less.
The culture of philanthropy among UGA donors strengthened considerably during this time. The three-year rolling average (the average fundraising totals for each year and the two years prior) stood at $151.5 million in FY16 but by FY19 had grown to $231.3 million—the highest that figure has ever been.
Then everything changed. As the world’s economy faltered in the face of an unprecedented global pandemic, so did contributions in the final quarter of our campaign.
But private support is needed now more than ever. Why?
Because this historic campaign built us into a University ready to take on challenges as great as the ones we now face.
And while the numbers tell us that our campaign was a success, we believe the most important number in $1,445,429,496 is one. One professor breaking ground in vaccine research. One scholarship turning a dream school into an alma mater. One decision to make one gift, repeated 613,495 times by 175,488 people. And all those ones add up.
OPENING DOORS FOR STUDENTS
UGA donors created 1,030 scholarship funds and more than doubled the amount of annual financial aid distributed by the UGA Foundation. Private giving also created 993 endowed scholarship funds, among which are 528 Georgia Commitment Scholarships (GCS), the need-based aid program launched by President Morehead in 2017.
In just over three years, thanks to matching funds and more than 340 donors, over $80 million has been committed to need-based aid. And we are already seeing the results: Last semester, 418 Georgia Commitment Scholars were enrolled, and the first GCS graduates are enrolling in graduate school and beginning their careers.
ENHANCING THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
In 2016, UGA became one of the largest universities in the country to require undergraduates to complete an experiential learning opportunity. Donor support throughout the campaign has enhanced these opportunities, providing unparalleled experiences for students.
Private giving also has supported cutting-edge facilities for students, helping to create Delta Hall in Washington, D.C.; the Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital; the Business Learning Community; the west end zone of Sanford Stadium; the William Porter Payne and Porter Otis Payne Indoor Athletic Facility; the Alice H. Richards Children’s Garden at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia; and a variety of other projects, resulting in over 900,000 square feet of new learning and activity space.
Donors also created 72 experiential learning funds, allowing more students to travel the world, assist in groundbreaking research, and explore their chosen fields first hand. These contributions are essential to providing effective and innovative learning experiences.
SOLVING GRAND CHALLENGES
Many of our world-class faculty members would not be at the University without the support of UGA donors. During the campaign, donors created 94 endowed faculty positions, an increase of 42%, strengthening UGA’s ability to attract and retain world-class talent like Biao He, the Fred C. Davison Distinguished University Chair in Veterinary Medicine and a GRA Distinguished Investigator, and Samantha Joye, the Athletic Association Professor of Marine Sciences and Regents Professor.
The campaign also created 36 new assistantship and fellowship funds for graduate students, whose first-class work is vital for a research university. Donors helped Athens remain an appealing destination for promising graduate scholars.
As the novel coronavirus swept the globe, forcing the closure of normal operations on campus, the UGA community rallied to support students, researchers working to combat the disease, and our ongoing mission to improve lives and communities. Between April and May, more than $7 million was raised through nearly 11,000 gifts to support UGA, its student emergency funds, and UGA researchers’ work to develop potential COVID-19 vaccines and therapies.
Even in the face of a pandemic, UGA donors proved the power of their commitment.