An outpouring of support
In fiscal year 2014–2015, donors to Yale contributed an extraordinary $650.2 million in new gifts and pledges, the second largest total in Yale’s history. Alumni, parents, and friends were generous in their support, providing new resources for all areas of the university.
Leading the way, Stephen A. Schwarzman ’69 provided a landmark $150 million contribution that will create a new campus center within University Commons and Memorial Hall and also establish a permanent program endowment. This transformative gift, which is the second largest individual gift ever made to the university, will directly advance President Peter Salovey’s vision of a more unified, accessible, and innovative Yale by creating new ties among students in Yale College, the Graduate School, and the professional schools.
Students also benefited from gifts to Access Yale, an initiative to raise scholarships across the university. Participation was broad, with wide support of both endowed and current use funds. By June 30, contributions exceeded $131 million, leading President Salovey to raise the two-year goal from $200 million to $250 million.
Other highlights included generous gifts for facilities, teaching, collections, and programs:
- Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin ’78 contributed $25 million in honor of David Swensen ’80 Ph.D., the university’s chief investment officer. The gift will name Swensen Tower in the Hall of Graduate Studies, which is slated for a roof-to-basement renovation.
- Two gifts totaling $20 million will support the forthcoming expansion of the Department of Computer Science, which merged last year with the School of Engineering & Applied Science.
- Several anonymous parents have taken the lead in funding a unified Center for Teaching and Learning, which will serve Yale College, the Graduate School, and the professional schools and occupy a renovated wing of Sterling Memorial Library.
- Donors have stepped forward to fund the new Center for Library Preservation and Conservation, a 15,000-square-foot laboratory and workshop housing the library’s Preservation Department.
- In the Athletics Department, donors generously funded two coaching positions, advancing a goal to endow all twenty-seven of Yale’s head coaching positions; to date, all but seven positions have been named.
A community of support
Fiscal year 2014–2015 was a milestone not just for donors, but also for the alumni, parents, and friends who volunteer on behalf of the university. Promoting annual gifts and reunion giving as well as lasting ties to Yale, these volunteers form a vibrant community of supporters.
In the Yale Alumni Fund, volunteers and staff launched a 125th anniversary celebration that will continue into 2016, and they helped to spur a banner year for fundraising. Annual giving reached $38.3 million, with new records set by the annual funds of Yale College and several professional schools. Reunion volunteers helped to secure $51.9 million, with three classes making annual gifts of over $1 million and the Class of 1980 achieving a new 35th reunion record.
Giving by Yale College parents reached $24.1 million, including support from alumni and non-alumni parents for the Parents Annual Fund and generous restricted gifts from non-alumni parents for core priorities such as undergraduate financial aid, teaching, and research. Corporations and foundations contributed a combined $102.5 million to support teaching innovation, the humanities, science, and medicine.
Together, these generous contributions will have a lasting impact, helping to support new learning, new discovery, and a tradition of excellence at Yale.