Media Advisory: Wake Will: The Campaign for Wake Forest hits $400 million mark
Thanks to the largest fundraising year in Wake Forest University’s 180-year history, Wake Will: The Campaign for Wake Forest surpassed the $400 million mark by the end of the fiscal year.
As of June 30, 2014, Wake Forest has raised more than $402 million of its $600 million goal for the Reynolda Campus. Today, the University is on the heels of exceeding the $405 million raised for The Campaign for Wake Forest: Honoring the Promise, which concluded in 2006. The University received $98.5 million in gifts and commitments between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014.
“Wake Will is a promise that we will prepare students to lead lives that matter, and every aspect of the campaign benefits them,” said Wake Forest President Nathan O. Hatch. “Unprecedented philanthropic support for Wake Forest – for everything from world-class faculty and undergraduate research, to financial aid and facilities enhancements – helps fulfill our commitment to create opportunity, educate the whole person and inspire excellence.”
Wake Forest publicly launched its campaign in October 2013. Support for Wake Will already has made possible a number of wide-ranging benefits to the campus, including:
- Scholarships and financial aid – Wake Will has raised more than $121 million in scholarships and financial aid, with a particular focus on increasing access for first-generation and middle class students, as well as children of alumni;
- Faculty, academic and campus program support – Gifts totaling more than $120 million support everything from individual academic departments to University-wide Campus Life initiatives, including:
- Recruiting and retaining world-class faculty, including the appointment of two Presidential Chairs;
- Strengthening the nationally recognized Office of Personal and Career Development, which guides students’ college-to-career journeys;
- Furthering Wake Forest’s comprehensive approach to wellbeing, which aims to transform the way college campuses approach wellbeing and become a model for others in higher education; and
- Assisting the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URECA) Center, which provides opportunities for interdisciplinary, mentored research for undergraduate students;
- Facility improvements – Farrell Hall, home to the Wake Forest University School of Business, opened in 2013; renovations are underway for Worrell Professional Center, Kirby Hall, Davis Chapel and the Z. Smith Reynolds Library; site work for the McCreary Indoor Center will start in August; and the expansion and renovation of Reynolds Gym will begin this fall.
“While a $600 million goal may seem lofty, it becomes tangible when I envision my peers and our dreams to make a difference in this world,” said Sarah Millsaps (’16), a rising junior from Raleigh, N.C., who serves on the student campaign committee. She received a $5,000 scholarship – made possible by Wake Will – to conduct research in Nepal this summer.
“When I think about the encouraging professors, research funding and support for our motto of Pro Humanitate that benefit students like me, it underscores the importance of every gift, at every level,” she said.
Indeed, every dollar counts. Seventy-four percent of donors to the campaign have committed less than $1,000; 47 percent of donors gave less than $250.
Last month, Wake Forest raised more than $1 million from 2,648 donors to the Wake Forest Fund in a 24-hour fundraising blitz. This type of broad support at all levels has added up to nearly $40 million of unrestricted support, or approximately 10 percent of all money raised to date, for the campaign.
“We are incredibly grateful for the ongoing support of students, parents, faculty, staff and friends – past and present – as well as the remarkable volunteers and Campaign Cabinet whose unwavering commitment to Wake Forest has made possible our success to date,” said President Hatch.
“Achieving the $400 million milestone is significant in helping strengthen Wake Forest’s position among Top 25 institutions by building the endowment, lessening our dependence on tuition revenue, creating greater financial aid resources and giving us more financial flexibility by increasing support of our annual funds,” said Donald E. “Don” Flow (MBA ’83), chairman of both the University Board of Trustees and the Campaign Cabinet. “By investing in our campus community – for today and for the future – we will not only make steady progress toward our overall campaign goal, but we will also make Wake Forest history.”
Additional information about the campaign is available at wakewill.wfu.edu.
About Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University combines the best traditions of a small liberal arts college with the resources of a large research university. Founded in 1834, the school is located in Winston-Salem, N.C. The University’s graduate school of arts and sciences, divinity school, and nationally ranked schools of law, medicine and business enrich our intellectual environment. Learn more about Wake Forest University at www.wfu.edu.
