University of Florida's Annual Fundraising Tops $500 Million For First Time

[Gator88NE]

University of Florida alumni and friends gave a record $526 million this year to move the university forward in teaching, discovery and service to Floridians and others. It’s the first time UF has raised more than $500 million in a single year.

https://www.uff.ufl.edu/your-impact/university-floridas-annual-fundraising-tops-500-million-first-time/

Now approaching the culminating years of its eight-year Go Greater campaign and with $2.18 billion raised as of June 30, 2019, the university is on pace to meet its $3 billion campaign goal ahead of schedule. This is the fourth consecutive year private giving has exceeded $400 million, representing a 26% increase from the previous year…

…UF’s alumni giving rate reached 17 percent this year, placing it among the highest for all public universities.

To put the $526 million into perspective, UF set a then record in 2013-2014 when UF donors give $215 million.

$500+ million is fantastic, but the 17% participation number is also big. UF is shooting for 20%, which is typical for the top 5 public universities. Alumni participation, measured through the number of alumni donations, accounts for five percent of a school’s ranking in the annual US News report.

From an article in the Alligator:

University staff aims to increase alumni participation rates up to 20 percent in the next five years, he said. This would put UF in line with other top five schools like the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and the University of Virginia, which have rates as high as 20 percent.

https://www.alligator.org/news/uf-focuses-on-donations-to-reach-top-status/article_1934f210-439a-11e9-a3b1-6368dd275721.html