STORRS – The University of Connecticut Foundation announced Monday that it raised more than $144 million in fiscal year 2025, marking one of the top fundraising years in the state university’s history.
The FY25 total also pushes the UConn Foundation past the halfway point milestone in its multi-year fundraising Because of UConn campaign, which more than $757 million to date toward its $1.5 billion goal.
An astounding $68 million of the total was raised in the last quarter of the fiscal year following the public announcement of the campaign in April.
The campaign spans all schools, colleges, campuses, athletics and UConn Health. The Campaign comprises four pillars: make transformative investments in student success; promote academic and innovation excellence; maintain focus on the health and wellness of people and the planet; and invest in athletic excellence and alumni engagement in the name of Husky Pride.
A Year in Review
In this past year, UConn has focused on creating opportunities for more than 8,550 first-in-family students to attend college with the goal of both raising retention and graduation rates.
The campaign has helped the university provide fellowships for much-needed graduate researchers, to recruit and retain top faculty, and to invest in world-changing research. In fact, UConn has nearly 300 scientists who are in the top 2% of researchers investigating everything from cancer to AI.
UConn boasts 26 national championships across all sports including this year’s thrilling NCAA championship win by the women’s basketball team. Generous donations have raised more than $50 million in support of UConn Athletics and have allowed the university to continue contributing to the health and financial literacy of student athletes.
Donor impact
UConn is fortunate for so many generous donors whose support has helped bring to fruition the “Because of UConn” Campaign.
A few highlights of the year across the university:
- Alumni Denis and Britta Nayden committed $15 million to establish The Nayden Center for Academic Excellence within the Bailey Student-Athlete Success Center. Their generosity will advance initiatives in student athlete financial literacy, mental health, and wellness.
This year several generous private and corporate donors have continued their commitment to the UConn Hartford campus, totaling nearly $8 million in support, a significant increase from prior years.
- Grateful patient Donald Reefe and his wife Jean are leaving a $1.5 million bequest to the UConn School of Medicine. Donald Reefe attributes his life-saving treatment and subsequent recovery from a heart attack to the innovative and quick work of doctors, nurses, and hospital staff. The Donald and Jean Reefe Family Fund for Cardiology will support clinical technology, education, and research at the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center.
- Judy Sarna, UConn friend and donor, made a $1.5 million gift to establish the Morris and Judy Sarna Breaking Bias and Creating Community Program Fund in honor of her late husband, a Holocaust survivor. The gift brings UConn’s immersive Holocaust and bias awareness program to high school students in Connecticut, while also providing Neag School students and faculty with hands-on teaching experience and professional development.
- Demonstrating extraordinary leadership and unwavering commitment, the Campaign Committee – led by Co-chairs Rich and Joyce Eldh, Doug and Sheila Elliot, Wilton First Selectman and longtime state Sen. Toni Boucher, and Dan Toscano – has contributed more than $40 million in FY25 across the Campaign’s key pillars.
“I’m extremely grateful to our Campaign volunteers for leading us to a successful launch and to our donors for their unfailing vision and generosity to UConn and UConn Health through the Because of UConn Campaign this year,” says Amy Yancey, President and CEO of the UConn Foundation. “We broke many previous records and have set the stage for an unprecedented year ahead in support of our students, patients, faculty, innovation and Husky Pride.”
