UH fundraising dips, but still tops $100M mark

Money raised by the University of Hawaii Foundation to benefit UH students, programs and research amounted to $103.6 million for the 2022-2023 fiscal year — a decrease of more than one-third compared with the previous year.

However, UH officials emphasized that it was still the third year in a row topping the $100 million mark (see accompanying chart), the total exceeded the foundation’s fundraising goal for the year, and the latest round of 19,104 donors was 1,033 more than the year before.

While general fundraising for UH has been mostly on the upswing in recent years, unusual “mega gifts” are the reason fundraising spiked to nearly $165 million in 2020-2021 and over $180 million 2017-2018, added Margot Schrire, associate vice president of communications and external relations for the UH Foundation.

Massive gifts like those totalling $60 million from Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg in 2021-2022, and $117 million in cash and real estate ground leases from alum Jay Shidler in 2017-2018, “do not tend to happen on an annual basis,” Schrire said by email in response to questions from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

“What’s really encouraging, though, is seeing three consecutive years of raising over $100 million for the university’s 10 campuses,” Schrire continued. “This sort of generosity is a testament to the loyalty and vision of our ohana.”

The $103.6 million for the most recent fiscal year — July 1, 2022, to June 30 — surpassed by 9% a $95 million goal set by UH leaders and the UH Foundation board, Schrire said.

The largest chunk of donated money came from “friends” of the university, at $28.8 million, according to a UH Foundation analysis titled “UH Donations by the Numbers.”

UH alumni gave $24.7 million — up markedly from $14.2 million the previous year — while foundations contributed $21 million and corporations donated $20.2 million. Smaller amounts came from other organizations, faculty and staff, parents and students.

Asked why the number of donors has increased, Schrire said that “many people across the islands are recognizing that support of higher education is one of the best long-term investments that one can possibly make. More specifically, we had a very successful Giving Tuesday, and our Annual Fund program exceeded its ambitious goals.”

Tim Dolan, vice president of advancement at UH and CEO of the UH Foundation, said in a news release that “what’s incredible about these results is the breadth and depth of support for UH and the number of donors who support our state university. … We’ve seen how our donors respond to the most pressing issues facing Hawaii, and we’re seeing that this year with their gifts to help Maui. We couldn’t be more grateful.”

The categories or “purposes” that attracted the most funds were “faculty and academic support” at $24.1 million and student aid, which includes scholarships, at $23.6 million. They were followed by “special programs” at $19.2 million and research, at $17.8 million, while other categories drew additional smaller amounts.

Notable gifts included large amounts from anonymous donors, the foundation said, including a $4.6 million gift for the new UH Center for Indigenous Innovation and Health Equity and a $2 million gift to preserve the special collections at UH Manoa’s Hamilton Library.

“Donors also addressed the most basic struggles some students encounter in college, such as affording food and housing,” UH said. The Stupski Foundation, for instance, gave $1.8 million to address college affordability and basic needs for students.

Among the 23,712 gifts received were those made by individuals and families in memory of loved ones, including faculty members or their spouses, the UH Foundation said.

“These results speak to the confidence our donors have in UH’s ability to improve the quality of life for Hawaii’s people through higher education, now and for future generations,” UH President David Lassner said in the release. “Every gift plays a role in changing lives, whether it’s our students’ success, strengthening our faculty or investing in our world-class research that addresses the most important challenges and opportunities facing Hawaii and the planet.”

UH FOUNDATION

The University of Hawaii Foundation has raised more than $100 million each of the past three years to benefit UH students, faculty, research and programs. “Mega gifts” in 2017-2018 and 2021-2022 caused unusual spikes in fundraising, officials said.

FISCAL YEARS AMOUNT

2017-2018 $180.261 million

2018-2019 $71.617 million

2019-2020 $84.713 million

2020-2021 $100.235 million

2021-2022 $164.984 million

2022-2023 $103.577 million

Source: University of Hawaii Foundation