UB has record fundraising year

Thanks to unprecedented alumni and donor commitments and enthusiasm, UB raised $115.7 million in support of its Boldly Buffalo campaign in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021 — the highest total UB has ever raised in a single year.

The support came from more than 19,000 donors, the most who have given in a fiscal year during the campaign.

“We have been awed by the unwavering support of our loyal donors and volunteers,” says Rodney M. Grabowski, vice president for university advancement. “These results show the confidence they have in the Boldly Buffalo campaign — our $1 billon effort to ensure that UB will continue to provide a world-class education to our exceptional students, empower our remarkable faculty to provide the highest level of instruction and research, and fuel the innovative programs and discoveries that benefit not only our community here in Western New York, but ultimately, our world.”

Since its launch in 2013, donors have committed over $784 million to Boldly Buffalo, which has surpassed its original goal. The university announced the campaign’s impact and success in April 2021, when it also announced that the campaign goal would be extended to $1 billion, thanks to the enthusiasm and engagement of record numbers of donors, alumni and community partners. This is the second consecutive year that UB has set a fundraising record and increased donor engagement with the university. During the campaign period, UB has also connected with more than 107,577 of its 273,000 alumni worldwide.

The campaign has continued to succeed even as the philanthropic landscape has changed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as the crisis led to shifting economic circumstances and donor priorities. In recognition of this success, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) awarded UB the prestigious Silver Recognition in Fundraising Improvement for CASE District II at its Winter 2021 awards ceremony.

During the past fiscal year, a record 19,671 donors — more than 13,000 of whom are alumni — made commitments across the university, supporting such varied initiatives as scholarships, student emergency funds, capital improvements and faculty support of research and endowed faculty positions — eight of which were established in this fiscal year. About 3,500 donors made their first-ever gift to the university, while more than 16 gifts exceeding $1 million were committed — the most seven-figure gifts ever in a single year. Commitments ranged from modest annual and crowdfunding donations to large bequests and in-kind gifts of software, demonstrating the strength of the UB community in supporting all levels of the university.

Among the many notable gifts UB received this fiscal year, are those that advanced the work of students and faculty who were on the front-line of COVID-19. Read on for a few other examples of the generosity and impact of donors.

Roberta, BA ’70, MLS ’74, and George Stevens, members of the Boldly Buffalo Campaign Steering Committee, committed $2 million to the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). Longtime supporters of UB, the Stevens are adding to their previous contributions to the university by creating additional bequests, which now total $4 million — half of which will be designated to researching retinal and macular degeneration in the Department of Ophthalmology, an affliction that members of Roberta’s family have suffered from, and the other half to be split between providing international educational experiences and other experiential learning opportunities, such as internships, to underserved students in CAS. Roberta, the incoming chair of the CAS Dean’s Advisory Council and first woman to hold the role, wants to set the standard for her peers to give to the university.

“I was fortunate to be among the recipients of a Regents scholarship and then to obtain graduate assistantships that launched me into my profession. Along the way, I observed and was sponsored by key indviduals whose information and guidance were the essential ingredients for advancing in my career choice. My husband George and I are making a bequest to UB for experiential learning so that students can be be better prepared for their entry into the workplace,” said Roberta Stevens. “In addition, the bequest is in gratitude for the support and encouragement of UB’s faculty. We are also pleased to contribute to the work of the Department of Ophthalmology and their research in retinal and macular degeneration, a condition that is going to affect more individuals as our generation advances in age.”

Thanks to the entrepreneurial success of the late Carl V. Granger, founder of Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation (UDSmr), a venture he created in partnership with UB and the UB Foundation, the university received a $10 million gift. In a reaffirmation of the UB scholarly community’s mission and values of equity, diversity and inclusion, President Satish K. Tripathi ensured that the gift would be used to help realize UB’s mission and values of equity, diversity and inclusion through the recruitment, retention and support of faculty and student scholars. Tripathi designated $2 million of the gift to create the Inclusive Excellence Scholarship and Program Initiative, a matching program to encourage donors to make commitments to the university in support of endowed scholarships or programs that promote equity, inclusion and diversity. The initiative generated $2.3 million in new commitments for a total of $4.3 million in new funding for equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives spanning nine of the university’s schools and units.

Thanks to the foresight and generosity of Joanne Levitan, BA ’68, MD ’72, who designated a $2.72 million bequest to the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences through her estate, the Jacobs School has established the Joanne Levitan Fund, which will provide support for education and research programs. A native of Buffalo, the late physician obtained both her BA in cellular and molecular biology and her MD from UB. Levitan, who passed away in June 2020 at the age of 73, was the recipient of financial aid as a student at UB and felt that students should not be distracted by finances while pursuing their educations. Her estate gift signaled her interest in supporting education and research at the Jacobs School.

“What the University at Buffalo has accomplished in the past 18 months, especially during a year when private support to education grew at only 1% nationwide, is nothing short of remarkable,” says Phil Hills, president and CEO of Marts & Lundy, a consulting firm that advises universities, colleges, schools and other mission-driven nonprofits on their philanthropic programs. “These results represent the work that UB’s staff, volunteers and leadership have achieved over the past several years to build strong, meaningful relationships with UB’s alumni, friends and community partners. The university has created a compelling case for support, showing their donors that a gift to UB can help advance medical discoveries, educate the leaders of tomorrow and have a direct impact on the local community in Western New York and far beyond. They are truly a leader among their peers.”