Funds raised from alumni and friends are an integral part of program financing for both public and private universities, and UGA is no exception. The public phase of the Commit to Georgia Campaign establish a lofty mark for future fundraising with $227.8 million to kick things off in fiscal year 2017.
 
 

“When we launched the public phase of the campaign last fall, we called on our alumni and friends to help us expand the impact of this great university on the world,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “Clearly, they are answering that call with extraordinary generosity and support, and it is with the deepest sense of gratitude that I say ‘thank you’ for making gifts that are changing lives.” — Katie DeGenova in UGA Today

 
 
According to the campaign’s media fact sheet, the goals of the fund raising campaign are to “increase scholarship support, enhance the UGA learning environment, and solve grand challenges for Georgia and for the world.”
 
 

Scholarship support:
• 5,290 student scholarships funded by private support were awarded in FY17.
• 115 Georgia Commitment Scholarships have been created since the program launched in January, and most of those will be awarded this fall.
• 15 UGA Foundation Trustees, who represent more than 30 percent of the Board of Trustees, have established at least one of these scholarships.
 
Enhancing the learning environment:
• $7.29 million has been raised to support experiential learning opportunities for students since the launch of the campaign.
• To enhance the learning environment, donors have committed to support to a number of capital projects such as the Business Learning Community (more than $70 million) and Delta Hall (more than $11 million) along with other capital projects such as the Indoor Athletic Facility (more than $30 million) since the start of the campaign.

Solving grand challenges for our state and world:
• Donors helped establish 10 new endowed faculty positions this year. The university is better able to attract and retain the best faculty with these endowments, which provide additional funding that can be used to hire graduate assistants, buy research equipment, etc. The total number of endowed faculty positions is now 275.