For the first time in its history, the University of North Carolina Wilmington received four donations of at least $1 million each within a single fiscal year, and the university’s overall fundraising for 2006-07 totaled approximately $9.7 million.
“UNC Wilmington consistently receives outstanding support from alumni, parents, friends and other donors because they believe in our commitment to providing students with the best possible learning experiences,” said Charles Evans, chairman of the Board of Trustees. “Philanthropic gifts supplement the funding UNCW receives from the state and enhance each student’s education. Not only are these gifts meaningful to the donors and their families or companies, but they also help provide the means for many deserving students to pursue a higher education and to provide new and expanded facilities for our students, faculty and staff."
The 2006-07 fiscal year began July 1, 2006, and ended June 30, 2007. During the previous fiscal year, the state provided 40.21 percent of the university’s operating revenue. The percentage for 2006-07 is not yet available.
The million dollar donations, in the form of outright gifts or pledges, support several UNCW initiatives, including student excellence, academic excellence and regional engagement.
Academic and student excellence
- More than $1 million from BB&T Corp. to establish the Moral Foundations of Capitalism Program within the Cameron School of Business and to support the BB&T Student Managed Investment Fund, one of the largest such funds in the nation for regional comprehensive universities.
- $1 million from philanthropists Mark Griffis and Dave Robertson to fund 20 new scholarships, providing at least one scholarship for each academic department on campus for the first time in UNCW history
- $2 million ($1 million in 2005-06 and $1 million in 2006-07) from alumni Herbert and Sylvia Fisher for student programs and services in the Fisher Student Center
Regional engagement
- More than $1 million from the Bernard Osher Foundation to endow the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNCW, which provides non-credit university courses, seminars, lectures, travel excursions and other educational opportunities to adult learners
About 13 percent of the university’s alumni contributed to UNCW during the fiscal year that began July 1, 2006, and ended June 30. They and other donors actively participated in the annual phonathon, contributing more than $448,000 in gifts and pledges, a 15 percent increase over the previous year. The phonathon, which operates each fall and spring semester, employs UNCW students as callers.
Donors also created 18 new planned gifts – such as bequests, charitable remainder trusts, and other investments in the university’s future – with an estimated value of more than $1.6 million. In addition, UNCW faculty and staff donated more than $189,000 to the university last fiscal year, a 51 percent increase from fiscal year 2005-06.
With BB&T and the Osher Foundation leading the way, corporations and foundations provided more than $2.6 million in gifts and pledges to UNCW in 2006-07, a 6 percent increase over the previous year.
"Each gift the university receives, from $1 to $1 million or more, helps our faculty and staff to focus on providing all students with the highest quality learning experiences through excellence in teaching, scholarship, research, artistic achievement and service," said Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo. “On behalf of the university, I gratefully thank our donors for their generosity.”
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