Emory Report

October 26, 1998

Volume 51, No. 9

Alumni and other gifts total $84.9 million for FY98 A strong year for the Annual Fund and the receipt of some major planned gifts created a banner year for fund raising at Emory. The University received $84.9 million in contributions between Sept. 1, 1997, and Aug. 31, 1998. "This was one of our best fund raising years in the history of Emory," said Bill Fox, senior vice president of Institutional Advancement. "It's only exceeded by the years when we received a $105 million gift (1980) and a $295 million gift (1997)." Fox emphasized the work of the academic deans, senior administrators and the staff of Institutional Advancement in contributing to the success. This year Emory received donations totaling $12.8 million from individuals, $28.7 million from foundations and corporations, and $35 million from trusts and bequests. The $84.9 million total also includes $8.3 million in donative gift awards that were processed by the Office of Sponsored Programs. This year the number of total gifts was up 8.7 percent to 29,172. Among those were 25,677 from individuals. "The range and level of gifts show that it took many people to make this banner year possible," said Fox. Of these donations, 16,600 came through the Annual Fund solicitation of alumni, parents and friends. At $2.8 million, the Annual Fund is a small percentage of the overall contributions, but those gifts are unrestricted to the budget and given primarily by alumni. "This year's $2.8 million total for the fund is the highest ever and exceeds years when the Coca-Cola Challenge was in place and The Coca-Cola Company added over $400,000 annually," said Fox. "We also had a record number of alumni giving to the Annual Fund; that's a significant statement of alumni support that helps us in many ways." C.J. Drymon, director of the Annual Fund, said that contributions of less than $100 added up to almost $500,000. "Our matching gift program, which uses volunteers from 26 companies, saw a 20 percent increase over last year and raised matching gifts to an all-time high of $409,000." Another highlight of the year's giving was Emory's receipt of $35 million from 238 trusts and bequests. "This year shows the importance of planned gifts for the University," said Fox. "We are continuing to build relationships with alumni and others that we hope will pay off." Jack Gilbert, associate vice president for planned giving and leadership development, noted that two significant bequests came from Emory trustees. "These gifts resulted from the engagement of these individuals over a lifetime and are a consequence of their having been in leadership roles, so they wanted to invest a good bit of what they had in Emory." Emory's endowment received $48.7 million of the total contributions, much of it going to the Goizueta Business School, which received $27.7 million. The School of Theology received $16.7 million; the School of Medicine $11.7 million; General University, $4.5 million; Woodruff Health Sciences Center $4.5 million; and Emory College $4.4 million. --Jan Gleason Return to Oct. 26, 1998, contents page