UAlbany Concludes Historic Fundraising Campaign
ALBANY, N.Y. (Feb. 18, 2021) – The University at Albany has concluded the most ambitious and successful fundraising campaign in its history. This Is Our Time: The Campaign for UAlbany inspired more than 34,000 alumni and friends to contribute $162 million, surpassing the campaign’s $150 million goal. Together, their gifts secured UAlbany’s mission of providing a life-changing education to hardworking, ambitious students, and reinforced its role as a force for positive change.
Although the campus-wide campaign benefited an array of strategic priorities, at its heart was support for student success. “At a time when our students’ needs have never been greater, the Great Dane family has provided a powerful statement of confidence in their future,” said President Havidán Rodríguez. “Donors to the campaign already are having a profound impact on our students’ lives. That impact will be felt for generations to come.”
The campaign’s accomplishments include:
- 175 new endowed scholarships, keeping a UAlbany education affordable and strengthening the University’s capacity to compete for exceptional students. During the campaign the University at Albany Foundation’s annual support of scholarships grew from $1 million to almost $3 million.
- UAlbany’s first endowed internship, the Massry Community Service Fellows, making it possible for students to contribute their skills and enthusiasm to Capital Region non-profits.
- Naming gifts to new academic and athletics facilities, enhancing the student experience inside and outside the classroom.
- Generous support for UAlbany’s Student Emergency Fund, which has awarded more than 730 grants during the COVID-19 pandemic to meet students’ urgent needs and keep them on the path to graduation.
The campaign also attracted gifts that strengthen diversity and inclusion across the campus and in the community. Campaign funding supported groundbreaking research on minority health disparities, a problem highlighted by the pandemic, and established an innovative School of Education program aimed at diversifying the teacher pipeline.
“Donors at every level, donors making their first-ever gifts to UAlbany, and donors stretching to make their largest-ever gifts, made this campaign,” said George R. Hearst III, campaign co-chair and president of the University at Albany Foundation. “Its success is a big step in building the culture of philanthropy that UAlbany needs and deserves, and should make us all excited about the University’s future.”
Campaign donor highlights include:
- The most successful fundraising effort in UAlbany’s 176-year history
- More than 34,000 campaign donors and more than 13,000 first-time donors
- UAlbany faculty and staff contributions totaling more than $11 million
- 32 donors making gifts of $1 million+ to the campaign, more than doubling the number of gifts at that level in the University’s entire history
- A near doubling of the University at Albany Foundation’s endowment during the campaign
More information about the campaign and stories of student impact are available at: Giving to UAlbany.