After a record-breaking fundraising year that garnered $50.5 million for the College of Fine Arts, the college finished #7 among all 26 fundraising units of the university.
“This achievement is unusual for a college of our small size, as we work alongside the largest schools on campus such as Engineering, Business and Liberal Arts,” said Sondra Lomax, executive director and assistant dean for Development. “The college has ranked in the Top 10 before, but not for several years.”
This year’s $50.5 million total is the second-highest fundraising year to date for Fine Arts. The highest year was in 2008, when the college received $55 million from Ernest and Sarah Butler for the music school. In recognition of the gift, the school was renamed the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music. This gift was transformational, and at that time, was the largest single gift to any public university music school in the nation.
The college’s annual total for FY 22-23 is due to more than 1,794 separate gifts from individuals, corporations and foundations. The donations included outright cash, pledged gifts up to five years and future gifts designated in estate plans. The bulk of the fundraising, $37.5 million, was given for academic program support, with the second largest category being $7.6 million for student support.
A significant outcome of this extraordinary fundraising year is Increased endowment investments: the College of Fine Arts now holds 516 individual endowments with a total market value of $216 million. In addition, there are currently 244 future estate gifts on record–most earmarked for endowments—with a combined worth of $148 million.
“Due to the generosity of our loyal supporters, friends and alumni, the college is building a strong financial future through these increasing numbers of endowments,” said Ramón H. Rivera-Servera, dean of the College of Fine Arts. “My thanks to everyone who has donated this past year, and my appreciation to the hard-working Fine Arts Development team, who made this success possible