University Concludes Successful Fundraising Year
Date published: June 24, 2020
The University of Dallas announced today a successful close to the 2019-20 fiscal
year, which ended May 31. Total cash gifts received in the 2019-20 fiscal year totaled
nearly $4.9 million. This figure represents a 24% increase in received revenue as
compared to the 2018-19 fiscal year.
“That this increase came during a time of a global health, financial and employment
crisis is a remarkable testament to the generosity of our alumni and friends,” said
Jason Wu Trujillo, UD’s Vice President for University Advancement.
Much of the growth in received revenue flowed from the university’s recent focus on
raising money for new endowed funds. From 1956 to 2019, the university established
an average of 1.2 new endowments per year. In the 2019-20 fiscal year, UD established
16 such endowments.
“Endowment giving is critical to the life of any perpetual institution,” said Trujillo.
“These are the funds that will sustain UD into its second century, which begins in
2056. Of course, we must address current needs, but we must also build an endowment
for the next generation of the UD family, and the generation after that one.”
Most of these new endowments are named for long-serving and much-beloved faculty members.
A partial list of those new endowments can be found here. The publicity surrounding these new endowments centered on in-person ceremonies,
which were halted due to COVID-19.
“I want to express my gratitude to alumni and parents of students who stepped up in
a big way this year to help us make impressive progress in endowed scholarships,”
said President Thomas S. Hibbs, BA ’82 MA ’83. “As an alumnus, I love the fact that
so many of the scholarships have been established in honor of legendary teachers.
Honoring the past as a way of building a hopeful future is integral to our mission
and provides momentum for future success.”
To address the urgent needs of UD students related to the spring crisis, President
Hibbs established the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund. Over 500 alumni and friends contributed over $216,000 to help 350 current students
and counting with immediate and unexpected needs related to the global pandemic.
Approximately 50 students have requested new or additional assistance from the fund
for the fall semester primarily because they or their parents have lost jobs due to
the economic and employment downturn. To help these students, you may make a gift
to the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund here.