UNC announced last month that the university received over $500 million in donor commitments in the most recent fiscal year.
This nearly $50 million improvement over last year marks the third consecutive record fundraising year for UNC.
Vice chancellor for university development David Routh said he believes that excitement surrounding the university has helped fuel these unparalleled fundraising numbers.
“I think we’ve gotten better as a university over the last several years about telling the story of the breadth of incredibly good things that are going on at Carolina,” said Routh.
This announcement came just over a month before the start of Carolina’s public fundraising campaign, which will be announced at a celebration during the weekend of the Carolina-Notre Dame football game on October 7.
Routh claims that private donors are a huge part of making tuition at UNC stay affordable.
‘We’re very concerned about keeping tuition affordable, and we’re very realistic about levels of state support,” said Ruth. “We’re deeply appreciative of the support we get from the state of North Carolina, but if you want to do those new things – those cutting edge things that we know we need to do to stay excellent – we really need private support.”
Some noteworthy donations last year included a $25 million gift of art and endowment funding from Sheldon and Leena Peck to support European and American art collections at the Ackland Art Museum, an $18 million gift from the Shuford family of Hickory to support entrepreneurship in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences, and a $4 million gift from Alice Lehman of Charlotte to support cellular immunotherapy research at the UNC Lineberger Cancer Center.
Related Stories
‹
![]()
$60 Million Gifts Help UNC Launch Fundraising DriveTwo Greensboro families have donated a combined $61 million to UNC-Chapel Hill.

UNC Rolls Out Fundraising Announcements After Campaign KickoffUNC officials spent the weekend rolling out announcements following a major fundraising campaign launch on Friday. “We’re announcing today that our campaign goal is to raise $4.25 billion,” UNC Chancellor Carol Folt said at an event on Friday morning leading to a weekend’s worth of activity. “That is a historic figure,” Folt said. “It’s the […]
![]()
UNC Honored for Fundraising EffortsUNC has been awarded the sustained excellence award in fundraising by the Council for Advancement and Support Education, the university announced Wednesday. Carolina is one of nine public universities recognized for the award. This announcement comes after UNC announced a second-consecutive record-setting fundraising total across the university over the last year. The sustained excellence award […]

UNC Sets Record Fundraising Total...AgainUNC received a record-breaking $495 million in commitments in fiscal year 2016. This is the second consecutive year that UNC set a new fundraising record, eclipsing last year’s total by nearly $50 million. “Today’s results – the highest level of fundraising support in the University’s 222-year history – is a proud moment for Carolina,” said Chancellor […]
![]()
UNC Receives Second-Highest Fundraising Total...a nine-percent increase from the previous year.

Chansky's Notebook: Time Will TellUNC is not a perfect team but is becoming a good one. How good remains to be seen as the Tar Heels embark on a difficult stretch.

'Unacceptable': UNC Men's Basketball Disgruntled After Nearly Losing 32-Point LeadUNC came close to writing one of the darkest chapters in program history Monday night in the Smith Center. That’s no hyperbole. After building up a 32-point lead against Syracuse, the Tar Heels saw that lead dwindle down to as little as six points in less than nine minutes of game time before the Orange […]

UNC Nearly Loses Enormous Lead, But Still Beats Syracuse in Chapel HillSyracuse cut what had been a 32-point UNC lead in the second half down to as little as six points, but the Tar Heels held on to beat the Orange 87-77 at the Smith Center Monday night. It’s Carolina’s fourth win in a row. HEELS WIN.#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/5UV6IfTrEt — Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) February 3, […]

UNC Extends Condition 2 From Saturday's Snow; No Classes Tuesday AMUPDATE: UNC shared an Alert Carolina on Monday saying it would extend its Condition 2 status on campus to 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 3.

UNC Basketball in the AP Poll: Men Up to No. 14, Women Back in at No. 25Both the UNC men’s and women’s basketball teams are ranked in the latest editions of the AP Poll, which were released Monday. The men (17-4, 5-3 ACC) rose two spots to No. 14, while the women (17-5, 6-3 ACC) are back in the poll at No. 25 after three consecutive weeks unranked. The men played […]
›