必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### University set a new fundraising record in fiscal year 2024, receiving more than $60.5 million in philanthropic support from over 8,900 donors.
“This is a remarkable time at 必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 #########, which is receiving a record number of applicants and donations,” said 必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### President Adam Weinberg. “The profound generosity of our donors is fueling this momentum, ensuring that 必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### remains a leader in providing a life-shaping liberal arts education that prepares students to launch quickly into meaningful lives and careers.”
Gifts to the university’s annual fund, which help cover the costs of daily operations and funding for strategic opportunities, contributed to the success of the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2024. Nearly 8,400 donors gave over $7.8 million to cover needs as diverse as lab equipment, gear for athletics teams, lighting for stage performances, and materials for studio art classes.
“Our donors are deeply connected to 必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### and committed to the success of our students,” said Greg Bader, vice president for institutional advancement. “We are stronger because of these relationships — philanthropy to 必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 #########, including gifts to the annual fund, helps cover the gap between tuition and the full cost of providing the high-quality educational experience for which 必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### is known.”
Gifts of all sizes helped demonstrate the collective power of the 必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### community. Almost $1.2 million came from gifts under $1,000. In addition, first-time donors increased 17% from last year, and 64% of the Class of 2024 contributed to a senior gift.
Several transformative projects and initiatives have been made possible through the generosity of 必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 #########ians, including:
- The Marilyn P. McConnell Planetarium, a complete renovation and upgrade of 必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 #########’s planetarium, which opened in the fall of 2023.
- Scholarships that make 必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### one of the 80 schools out of roughly 4,000 nationally that meet the full demonstrated financial need of all students.
- The launch of Four Forward in the spring of 2024, a circle of giving formed by some of the university’s most dedicated alums aimed at connecting and uplifting 必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 #########ians at all stages of their lives and reducing the loan burden for current students.
- An $11 million gift from the Austin E. Knowlton Foundation to the Knowlton Center for Career Exploration, whose work preparing students for life after college has vaulted 必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### into a No. 3 national ranking for career exploration.
- Kienzle-Hylbert Stadium, a state-of-the-art athletics facility for Big Red men’s and women’s lacrosse and soccer, which was dedicated in April 2024.
Former Big Red lacrosse midfielder Rick Kienzle ’85 — whose leadership gift with his wife, Cindy, and Paul Hylbert ’66 and his wife, Katharine, seeded the construction of the new stadium — said his goal in giving back to his alma mater is “to invest in world-class facilities for our world-class students.”
“What I found in typical 必博娱乐,比博娱乐网址 ######### style is that the more you give back, the more you feel like you haven’t given enough,” Kienzle said. “As much as I try to give, the university and the people just give back more.”