Sometimes it’s best not to quit while you’re ahead.

In 2014, the University of Oregon announced what was then an ambitious campaign fundraising goal of $2 billion. The high bar was raised to $3 billion in 2018. This June, UO donors cleared that lofty mark with room to spare.

The 2020-21 fiscal year marked the university’s best for fundraising, topping off the total at $3.24 billion for its current campaign.

“Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we not only exceeded our first campaign fundraising goal, but also our second higher goal. The donations we received from 147,000 alumni and friends of the university will enable us to provide our students with an exceptional education and support our faculty as they make path-breaking discoveries and add to the store of knowledge. The funds we raised in the campaign will also allow us to begin work on some very exciting initiatives including the second phase of the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact and fundraising to support the recently-announced Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance at Oregon.”

“Exceeding our fundraising goal is just one of the success stories from this year,” Schill said. “This campaign has been defined by transformational gifts that exemplify the forward-thinking vision our donors have for the university.”

Finishing Strong

From June 2020 to June 2021, the UO received 34,519 gifts. More than half of the $867.2 million raised was donated by alumni living in Oregon, and 6,684 of those donors were making their first gift to the UO.

Over the course of the 11-year campaign, UO donors have made it possible to increase faculty hiring, support research and academic programs and fund initiatives for student success including scholarships, according to Mike Andreasen, vice president for advancement. Their investments have also funded new facilities, building renovations and expansion projects across campus. The campaign helped increase the UO Foundation endowment to more than $1 billion.

Andreasen said this would be the last year of the “wildly” successful campaign.

“As we prepare to officially end our campaign, we are deeply grateful to our donors for helping us exceed the most ambitious fundraising effort in our state’s history,” he said.

Every gift, regardless of size, Andreasen said, made an impact.

“Our donors are willing to invest in making the world a better place, while also consistently showing up to help our faculty and students. They truly believe in us. Their passion for this university has helped build a campus second-to-none for its facilities, faculty and student resources and support.”

“The true success of this campaign is demonstrated through the people it has helped—and their remarkable accomplishments. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we have increased support for our faculty, as well as comprehensive student success programs such as PathwayOregon. This campaign has made the UO a place of discovery, innovation, diversity and unsurpassed excellence.” added Schill.