Baylor Announces Largest Fundraising Year in University’s History

Contact: Lori Fogleman, 254-709-5959
Follow us: @BaylorUMedia on X and LinkedIn

Baylor University today announced the highest fundraising year in its 181-year history, with the Baylor Family joining together to give a record-breaking $244.5 million to the University during the 2026 fiscal year (FY26). Nearly 25,000 alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends gave generously to support areas across the University, including academic programs and research, endowed faculty positions and Student Life activities, scholarship funds, resources for missions and study abroad, athletics, and more in gifts, pledges and planned gifts.

“We are truly grateful for the alumni, parents and friends who so generously support the mission and vision of Baylor University,” said Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D. “This has been a transformative and historic year for Baylor University. From the naming of our Moody School of Education, to the truly incredible momentum created by the Extend the Line Scholarship Initiative toward affordability and access, our Baylor donors continue to seek out opportunities where they may have an impact upon the lives of Baylor students, while supporting the research, teaching and global impact we strive to achieve in the aspirations of our strategic vision, Baylor in Deeds. We take a moment today to honor these gifts and the members of our Baylor Family who give of their time, their talent, and their treasure to support Baylor University.”

Extending the Line

A significant portion of the record-breaking gifts and pledges were made in support of Extend the Line, a scholarship fundraising initiative to help ensure a Baylor education remains accessible and affordable for both current and prospective students. Aiming to raise $250 million by 2030, donors gave more than $80.5 million in FY26 toward the initiative, establishing 87 new scholarships and increasing existing funds, as well. Since the initiative’s public launch in February 2025, Extend the Line has raised nearly $124 million in total scholarship support – halfway to the goal in just over a year.

“We celebrate an incredible milestone today – a wonderful achievement by our Baylor Family that will benefit Baylor University for generations to come,” said Jason Diffenderfer, vice president of University Advancement. “It is inspiring to see our Baylor community come together in record-breaking ways to support That Good Old Baylor Line. We have witnessed alumni give in gratitude of the support they received during their own years at Baylor. We have watched Baylor Parents give to ensure that their students’ classmates have the resources they need to continue their Baylor journeys with as few financial obstacles as possible. We are humbled by the Baylor Family’s response to this call for support, and it compels us to give our best efforts to support our alumni, parents and friends as they give back to ensure future generations of Baylor students can realize their dreams of a Baylor education.”

Leadership Gifts from Foundations

This past fiscal year included a number of significant gifts to the University.

• In January, Baylor announced a $30 million gift from the Moody Foundation of Galveston, Texas, which re-named the University’s 107-year old School of Education as the Moody School of Education. The gift –  the largest single foundation gift in the School’s history – endowed funds to support scholarships, expand faculty research and provide resources to grow academic programs.
• In December, Lilly Endowment Inc. gave a $9.76 million grant to Baylor’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary to launch and provide financial support for the Ministry for Life initiative. The initiative is funded through Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, which is designed to help theological schools across the U.S. and Canada as they prioritize and respond to the most pressing challenges they face as they prepare pastoral leaders for Christian congregations now and into the future.
• In February, the Moody School of Education’s Baylor Center for Disability and Flourishing received a $5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. for “The Whole Body Project: Flourishing Together in Faith and Life,” which will highlight the powerful stories of faith and mutual flourishing that emerge when people with and without disabilities or mental health challenges move from exclusion and isolation to true belonging through shared worship, learning, service, leadership and life together. The five-year storytelling project aims to identify compelling and transformative stories around this subject, produce high-impact and multi-format stories, share these stories broadly through a national campaign and resource faith communities with tools to take next steps toward inclusion.

Significant Support from Alumni, Parents, Friends

Baylor’s alumni embraced the University’s call for support in this record-breaking year, with more than $121 million given and pledged in FY26 to support everything from scholarships to program funds to faculty positions to athletics. Whether supporting a specific academic program or seeking to honor their ties to the University, nearly 16,000 Baylor alumni gave back to their alma mater. 

• Starting FY26 strong, Baylor alumni Susan, B.A. ’66, and Lee Bush, B.B.A. ’64, of Athens, Georgia, celebrated Baylor’s recently established Baptist World Alliance global program with a major gift establishing The Lampsato Endowed Chair of Baptist World Missional Engagement and The Lampsato Endowed Fund at Truett Seminary to advance Truett Seminary’s research and involvement in areas related to Baptist life and work worldwide.
• 

  Baylor Baseball also received significant support in January when Magnolia, the Waco-based and nationally recognized lifestyle company founded by Baylor alumni Chip and Joanna Gaines, made the largest gift in the Baylor Baseball program’s history. The gift named Magnolia Field at Baylor Ballpark and will support the program’s anticipated capital projects.

• Michael, B.B.A. ’02, M.B.A. ’03, and Jennifer Hillman of Waco honored Michael’s mother, Associate Professor Kathy Hillman, B.A. ’73, and her 50 years of service to Baylor, by establishing The Kathy Robinson Hillman Endowed Chair in Communication within the College of Arts & Sciences. The endowment will provide the Department of Communication with funding for a full-time faculty member whose life and work reflect principles consistent with a Christian worldview, supporting the teaching, research and mentoring needs of the department and its students. The chair honors Kathy Hillman’s legacy of service which includes her roles as director of the Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society and director of Baptist Collections and Library Advancement.
• Another Baylor alumnus chose to honor his parents and their close ties to Baylor. John T. Williams, B.B.A. ’67, of Baltimore, Maryland, established The Virginia and Tom Williams Endowed Chair in American Literature within the Department of English in the College of Arts & Sciences. The gift was made in memory of Williams’ parents, Virginia, B.A. ’31, and Tom Williams, B.A. ’31, and will support a faculty member teaching American literature, an important course in Baylor’s core curriculum.

The Baylor Family represents more than alumni – the Baylor community also includes Baylor parents, Baylor fans and those who have embraced the University as their own, due to a shared faith, commitment to higher education and appreciation for the impact Baylor’s alumni, faculty, staff and students have in this world.

For Gary Grisham, A.B.C. ’20, his affinity to Baylor was through his wife, Barbara, B.A. ’73, but his decision to give to the University alongside Barbara was inspired by his Baylor friends. Whether through their lives of service or the stories Gary heard about Baylor’s transformational educational experience, the impact of a Baylor education, combined with their desire to help other Baylor students and invest in their futures, led Gary and Barbara to establish The Gary and Barbara Grisham Endowed Scholarship Fund in Engineering and Computer Science and The Barbara and Gary Grisham Endowed Scholarship Funds in Music and in Interior Design through their estates.

In total, Baylor alumni, parents and friends pledged more than $102 million this year in deferred and planned gifts to support the University’s students through scholarships, academic programs, faculty funding and more. 

In addition, Baylor saw 40 families join the Old Main Society, which recognizes their decision to include the University in their estate plans. Baylor parents continue to grow in their support as well, with non-alumni parents making up 17.9% of donors. Baylor parents came together this year through the Baylor Parent Fund to support numerous areas on campus, including the Baylor Libraries’ Open Educational Resource Fellows and Moody Library’s Makerspace, as well as the Book Arts and Letterpress Lab.

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 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. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu.