Record new donors, more dollars for Purdue in 2013-14
July 8, 2014
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University raised more than $235 million in gifts from more than 65,000 donors and, in the process, set records for first-time donors and student support for the fiscal year that ended June 30. Both the amount raised and number of donors are substantial increases over the previous year.
The amount of gifts – which includes cash, real estate, gifts-in-kind, deferred gifts and new pledges - is up from just under $219 million last fiscal year and marks the 13th consecutive year that the amount has exceeded $200 million.
Just as important to Purdue is the fact that the number of donors reverses a 10-year decline and reflects an increase of more than 10 percent over last year’s 59,000. Of this year’s donors, more than 14,000 were first-time givers, nearly double last year’s new givers and an all-time record.
“Over the past year, loyal alumni and friends, corporations and foundations, faculty, staff - even students - have given back to Purdue in a truly heartwarming fashion,” Purdue President Mitch Daniels said. “It’s particularly encouraging to see the increase in first-time donors. Thanks to the generosity and foresight of all of our donors, we are strengthening Purdue’s leadership in the STEM disciplines, pursuing world-changing research and transforming how students learn - all while working to keep a Purdue education affordable.”
Amy Noah, vice president for development, said donors have reacted overwhelmingly to the action plan set out in Purdue Moves, a range of initiatives introduced by Daniels to broaden Purdue's global impact and enhance educational opportunities for its students. One of the goals of Purdue Moves is student affordability and accessibility, which helped drive a record-setting amount of gifts for student support, exceeding $50 million for the first time in Purdue history. Student support includes gifts for scholarships, fellowships, student programs and awards.
In addition, the April 30 Purdue Day of Giving drew in nearly $1 million for the President’s Student Affordability and Accessibility Fund. A total of $7.5 million came in on the Day of Giving from more than 6,500 donations.
Purdue received 43 gifts of more than $1 million each during the fiscal year. That is the highest number in the last 12 years and the third largest ever. These gifts supported a wide range of areas, including study abroad, education, agriculture, engineering expansion and affordability efforts.
“Purdue alumni and friends are incredibly proud of this institution,” Noah said. “The value of a Purdue degree continues to rise, and, at all levels of giving, the Purdue family has responded enthusiastically and generously to make an already premier university even better. We will work hard to make this remarkable year in fundraising a good foundation for future efforts.”
Sources: Mitch Daniels, president@purdue.edu
Amy Noah, arnoah@prf.org
