NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Rutgers President Robert L. Barchi today announced that the Rutgers University Foundation has topped $800 million in fundraising as it approaches the $1 billion goal of the “Our Rutgers, Our Future” campaign.
“I am thankful to our donors, to the leadership of the foundation, and to the faculty and staff across the university who helped us reach this extraordinary milestone,” said Barchi. “The recent integration with the former UMDNJ offers tremendous potential for our institution, and our ability to raise private donations is critical in helping the new Rutgers on its path to becoming one of the best public universities in the nation.”
Recent donations include a $12.5 million gift from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – the largest single gift that Rutgers has ever received from the foundation.
To date, there are more than 108,000 donors, with nearly 50,000 contributing to Rutgers for the first time. More than 60,000 donors are Rutgers alumni.
The “Our Rutgers, Our Future” campaign, publicly launched in 2010, is the most ambitious fundraising effort in the university’s history.
“There is still much work to do to reach our campaign’s fundraising goal,” said Barchi. “But I have every confidence in the leadership of the foundation, and I know we can rely on the enduring generosity of Rutgers’ supporters in New Jersey and around the world.”
The campaign priorities are designed to support programs and initiatives across the university that broaden and enhance the ways Rutgers serves students, the state, and the world.
Contributions to the campaign by Rutgers alumni and friends already have funded the creation of more than 700 new scholarships and fellowships and 20 new endowed chairs.
Established in 1766, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is America’s eighth oldest institution of higher learning and one of the nation’s premier public research universities. Serving more than 65,000 students on campuses, centers, institutes and other locations throughout the state, Rutgers is the only public university in New Jersey that is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities.