Nearly 50,000 donors contributed to help support students, research, and new programs

For the first time in its history, Rutgers raised more than $200 million in an academic year, Rutgers University Foundation announced today.  

Rutgers alumni and friends of the university helped raise a record $209.1 million in the past year – 11 percent higher than the previous record set in 2015. The funds will be used to support student scholarships across the institution, groundbreaking research, athletics, and new programs and facilities aimed at improving health in New Jersey.

“Thanks to the increasing generosity of our donors, Rutgers University can provide greater resources to our outstanding students and exceptional faculty,” said Rutgers President Robert Barchi. “This record year of giving shows tremendous support for our university's goals and our vision for the future.”

The gifts will support the five-year strategic plan, adopted in February 2014 by the Rutgers Board of Governors, which outlines ambitious aspirations for the university.

“Raising more than $200 million in one year sets a new standard that is critical to the institution and to all the people and causes the university reaches worldwide through education, research, and service,” said Rutgers University Foundation President Nevin Kessler. “This milestone is further evidence that gifts of all sizes are fueling Rutgers’ momentum and providing opportunities for alumni and friends to make their mark and help the university expand its ability to transform lives.”

Rutgers’ record-breaking fundraising year, which ran from July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017, was achieved, in part, because of a record number of donors – 49,736 – to the university. The year also saw a significant increase in the number of donors making gifts of $1 million or more. Gifts totaling more than $124 million were made by these donors, including more than $41 million in new bequest intentions.

Highlights from the past year include:

  • The Pussycat Foundation will provide leadership development and scholarships for women at the Honors Living-Learning Community at Rutgers University–Newark through a $1.37 million grant to the BOLD Women’s Leadership Network.
  • An $18 million investment from RWJBarnabas Health is helping create the RWJBarnabas Health Athletic Performance Center, a multisport training complex and sports medicine program that will help Rutgers’ student-athletes perform at a championship level.
  • The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is advancing health and wellness in the Garden State through several grants that will include $5 million to enhance and expand the Child Health Institute of New Jersey at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; $4.18 million to promote effective health policy in New Jersey and support the New Jersey Health Care Policy Center’s State Health Initiatives program; and $998,900 to help researchers measure community activities and assist organizations in building a culture of health in New Jersey. 
  • An anonymous donor gave $5 million to support Rutgers athletics.
  • More than 430 donors contributed a total of $3 million to establish the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies. The holder of the chair will address the ways technology and new media are reshaping culture and develop programs to promote a more inclusive media landscape.
  • Marian Wissman created an endowed chair, the Herman L. and Marilyn M. Wissman Chair in Economics at Rutgers University–Camden, through a bequest intention of $3 million. The chair is the second in Rutgers–Camden’s history. 
  • Gary M. RC’74 and Barbara W. DC’76 Rodkin and the Rodkin Family Foundation are empowering exceptional learning and discovery at Rutgers University–New Brunswick.Their gifts totaling $3.2 million will establish the Rodkin Science Scholars Endowment and the Rodkin Global Service-Learning Endowment at Douglass Residential College and prepare underrepresented middle and high school students for college through the Rutgers Future Scholars program. 
  • Aimee Ramcharran PHARM’04 and Bibiano and Asuncion de Chavez are providing life-changing student support with a $1 million gift to an endowed scholarship and endowed excellence fund at Rutgers Business School in memory of Jayceryll Malabuyoc de Chavez LC’99.
  • The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation pledged $1 million to support scholarships at both Rutgers Law School and the Mason Gross School of the Arts that will attract talented students who reflect the diversity of New Jersey and the nation.
  • The Good Ventures Foundation, which was founded by Dustin Moskovitz, a Facebook co-founder, and his wife, Cari Tuna, donated $2.98 million to the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences to support research on the impact of nuclear war being conducted by Alan Robock, a distinguished professor in the school.

 An extended list of significant gifts to Rutgers during the past year is highlighted here.

About Rutgers University

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a leading national research university and New Jersey’s preeminent, comprehensive public institution of higher education. Established in 1766, the university is the eighth-oldest higher education institution in the United States. Approximately 69,000 students and 22,500 faculty and staff learn, work, and serve the public at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, Rutgers University–Newark, Rutgers University–Camden, and Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and at additional locations across New Jersey and around the world.