Baylor Announces Second-Largest Year of Fundraising in University’s History

Contact: Lori Fogleman, Baylor University Media & Public Relations, 254-709-5959
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WACO, Texas (July 20, 2023) – Baylor University today announced the second-highest fundraising year in Baylor’s history, with more than $179 million given by alumni, parents and friends during the 2023 fiscal year (FY23). This achievement came during the penultimate year of fundraising for Give Light, Baylor’s comprehensive philanthropic campaign that has seen more than $1.37 billion given to support the University’s endowment, capital priorities and current funds. Since the start of the Give Light campaign, 94,389 donors have contributed to Baylor’s capital, endowment and current use priorities.

“I am grateful for the alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students, fans and friends who have contributed to support Baylor University in the past year,” said Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D. “Baylor’s mission as a Christian research university relies on the support of our Baylor Family, and it is humbling to witness the philanthropy of this community as our donors have responded to our call for support in truly transformational ways. We speak of a bright future for Baylor University, and that future is reliant upon the resourcing and prayerful commitment of our donors. We are truly grateful for their generous and continued support.”

The Give Light campaign was launched publicly in 2018 with an ambitious goal of raising $1.1 billion in support for the priorities and aspirations of Illuminate, Baylor’s strategic plan. The University surpassed its fundraising goal two years ahead of schedule during the 2021-2022 academic year, thanks to the Baylor Family’s philanthropy. The University entered the final phase of the campaign, which sunsets on May 31, 2024, the end of Baylor’s current fiscal year.

Some of the significant milestones achieved in FY23 include the Hankamer School of Business, the Louise Herrington School of Nursing and the Baylor School of Education surpassing their initial fundraising goals set in the earliest stages of the Give Light campaign. The following numbers help to underscore the support and generosity of the Baylor Family in FY23:

• 24,242 alumni, parents, friends and others gave to Baylor University from June 2022-May 2023;
• 15.85% alumni participation, indicating the percentage of Baylor’s undergraduate alumni who gave to the University during the fiscal year;
• Baylor donors increasing their support through corporate and other matching gift programs, capitalizing on the generosity multipliers to provide an additional $80,000 from such programs over FY22 fundraising totals;
• More than $543,000 raised through event attendance, supporting everything from Baylor Athletics to scholarships; and
• $15.8 million raised through the Baylor Bear Foundation in support of scholarships for more than 500 student-athletes within Baylor Athletics.

Baylor University’s endowment continues to grow. Endowed funds represent a significant area of support for the University, as gifts from donors are invested within Baylor’s endowment portfolio, and those investment returns are then used to fund areas of need designated by the donors. The following numbers illustrate the impact of the Baylor Family in FY23:

• 113 endowed scholarships established, bringing the total number of scholarships established during Give Light campaign to 792; and
• 69 non-scholarship endowed funds created, growing the number of endowed funds created during the campaign to 269 – providing enduring support for research, faculty resourcing and academic programming, among other support.

Through the Illuminate Chair Matching Program, four endowed chairs were created to support key initiatives during FY23:

• The Luther Sweet Endowed Chair in Disabilities within the Baylor School of Education
• The Fuller Family Endowed Chair for Social Justice within the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work
• The Russell H. Dilday Chair of Baptist Life and Leadership within George W. Truett Theological Seminary
• The Louise Herrington Endowed Chair in Mental Health within the Louise Herrington School of Nursing

An additional endowed chair within the College of Arts & Sciences also was created as part of a deferred gift commitment.

During FY23, Baylor also received significant leadership gifts for capital priorities made to the Give Light Capital Fund. The fund supports such key capital projects as the Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center, which will open this fall, the Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion, slated to open in early 2024, the Fudge Football Development Center and the Honors Residential College renovation and enhancement.

The Give Light campaign continues with priorities that center around growing the University’s endowment to provide enduring support for faculty, research and student scholarships. Other funding priorities include expanding the academic enterprise and resourcing academic departments to allow for growth in academic areas of focus: Health; Data Sciences; Materials Science; Human Flourishing, Leadership and Ethics; and Baylor in Latin America.

For more information or to support Give Light: The Campaign for Baylor, visit the Give Light website.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.