UW News

October 4, 2001

Private support for University sets record

Total private support to the UW totaled $231,918,169 in fiscal year 2000-2001, an increase over last year’s record-breaking total of $225,575,162.

“The generosity of private donors is increasingly essential to help fund the scholarships, research and service of the University of Washington and the individuals we serve,” said Richard L. McCormick, UW president. “This support helps reinforce the University’s ambition and resolve to continue the process of transformation already under way so that we become even more vital in an ever-changing world.”

Gifts fund new research initiatives, community outreach, and academic programs and provide scholarships to talented students of diverse backgrounds. Among the largest gifts announced in the past year were $5 million in software from JD Edwards World Solutions Company for the School of Business Administration’s E-Business Lab; $2.3 million in real estate from the Helen R. Whiteley Foundation to establish the Helen Riaboff Whitely Center at Friday Harbor; and $1.7 million from Earl Ferguson for endowed scholarships.

Fiscal year 2000-2001 is the third consecutive year that private gifts and grants to UW have topped the $200 million mark. The University received a record-breaking gift total of $134,805,190 and earned more than 1,658 private grant awards provided to UW faculty totaling $97,112,979, a 6 percent increase over last year’s total.

“Successful fund raising is always the result of a team effort, and we owe ours to the countless donors, volunteers, University leaders, faculty, staff and students who are so deeply committed to the UW and appreciative of its service to its students and the community,” said Connie Kravas, vice president for development and alumni relations.

The UW’s fund raising program is one of the strongest in the country. In 1999-2000, the University of Washington ranked 17th nationally in the amount of private gifts and grants it received and fourth among public universities.