News Release

Carolina brings in $241.2 million in private gifts
for FY 2006, breaking $200 million for first time

CHAPEL HILL - The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill raised and received a record $241.2 million in private gifts in fiscal 2006, which ended June 30.

This is the first time that Carolina, in a single year, has raised more than $200 million in cash and other assets that is immediately available to the school. The university has set three consecutive years of such record-setting support, topping $192.5 million in 2005 and $192 million in 2004.

"Breaking $200 million in gifts received is a tremendous milestone," said Paul Fulton, a member of the university's Board of Trustees and co-chair of the Carolina First Campaign Steering Committee. "It shows just how much our supporters believe in what the university is doing and how much they understand the importance of private gifts in meeting our highest priorities. We're immensely grateful for their generosity."

This record-breaking year lifted the university's current fund-raising drive, the Carolina First Campaign, to $1.81 billion in commitments. In 2006, campaign commitments totaled $287.2 million. The campaign supports UNC's vision of becoming the nation's leading public university. It began in July 1999 and will end Dec. 31, 2007.

At $1.81 billion, Carolina First already has surged past its initial goal of $1.8 billion. The drive's momentum inspired campaign leaders to increase the goal to $2 billion in October 2005.

"We felt that $2 billion was well within our reach, and the campaign's success this year attests to the fact that our confidence was well founded," Fulton said. "The fact that we've already exceeded our original goal speaks for itself."

Overall in the campaign, UNC alumni have given $678.3 million, while corporations and foundations have provided almost $710 million. The balance has come from friends of the university and other organizations.

Gifts in 2006 helped the university create 29 endowed professorships, as well as 98 undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships. That raised Carolina First's totals for these priorities to 181 and 603, respectively.

"Great faculty and students stand at the heart of a great university - that's why supporting them is such a critical piece of this campaign," said Mike Overlock, another of Carolina First's three co-chairs. "It's great to see the progress we made last year in these areas. The momentum behind the campaign continues to build."

In student support, an $11 million bequest from the estate of Col. John Harvey Robinson jump-started a $60 million campaign to raise funds for merit-based scholarships that will help UNC land more top high school scholars.

Building projects - one of UNC's highest priorities - also received a boost with a $5 million gift in May from FedEx Inc. to support a global education building that will house all international and area studies programs for the College of Arts and Sciences, including study abroad.

And in a move supporting the arts at Carolina, the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust made a $5 million challenge grant to establish a new endowment for the university's Carolina Performing Arts Series. The trust awarded Carolina $2.5 million, with the remaining $2.5 million to come after the university raises $5 million for the series by the end of Carolina First.

"The scope of the campaign is tremendous," said Charlie Shaffer, campaign co-chair. "The impact is being felt not only in Chapel Hill, but across our state and beyond. More deserving students are able to come here, and we have more great professors to teach them. More groundbreaking research takes place in our laboratories, and we have more and better facilities to support it.

"We are a great university without Carolina First," Shaffer said. "With Carolina First, we are helping Carolina reach its goal of becoming the nation's leading public university."

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Carolina First Campaign background: http://carolinafirst.unc.edu/
Development Communications contact: Cate House, (919) 843-7023, cate_house@unc.edu
News Services contact: Kyle York, (919) 962-8415, kyle_york@unc.edu