JMU News

Donors shatter giving records in FY22


 
2022-08-FY22-News

SUMMARY: Donors gave more than $34.7 million in charitable gifts to JMU during fiscal year 2022, shattering all previous records of fiscal year giving to JMU. Total giving includes gifts of all sizes from individuals and organizations and benefits all areas of the university.


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Donors gave more than $34.7 million in charitable gifts to JMU during fiscal year 2022, shattering all previous records of fiscal year giving to JMU.

Total giving increased by $11.5 million or 33.2% for the fiscal year that ended June 30, topping FY21’s $23.2 million, which itself had broken all previous years’ giving.

Total giving includes gifts of all sizes from individuals and organizations and benefits all areas of the university. Among the highlights of FY22:

  • There were 18,328 donors in FY22
  • 13,471 gifts of $250 or less accounted for more than $1 million
  • On Giving Day, 4,777 donors raised $1,035,165 for 152 campus causes
  • Five 7-figure gifts totaled $10.65 million
  • Donors gave more than $9.7 million to scholarships
  • Donors gave $4.8 million to endowed accounts

While giving to JMU has been on a steady upward and often record-breaking trajectory with year-over-year increases for the last eight years, the jump from FY21 to FY22 represented a change in an order of magnitude. The trend coincides with the eight years of Unleashed: The Campaign for James Madison University, which also concluded on June 30.

“What we saw this year was the power of people believing together,” said Nick Langridge (’00, ’07M, ’14Ph.D), vice president of university advancement. “With the Warden Scholarship Match, Dukes Unite, Women For Madison, Giving Day and so many elements of the Unleashed campaign, it happened several times this year. We defined a priority, with a clearly stated goal, a demonstrable outcome and an urgent timeline. Then what happened next epitomizes what we know about JMU. A sense of purpose and unity drove giving to new heights, it felt like a family rallying to provide care and to pave the road forward.”

Another big reason for this year’s increase was the $11.4 million contributed by corporations and foundations. JMU’s largest-ever grant of $2 million from a private foundation came from the Mellon Foundation to preserve the digital future of the Furious Flower Poetry Center, the nation’s first academic center devoted to Black poetry.

FY22 Giving Chart
Giving to JMU has been on a steady trajectory since Unleashed: The Campaign for James Madison University launched eight years ago.

At $6.2 million, athletics also saw an overall giving increase in FY22, due in large part to donors who stepped up to help make JMU’s acceptance of the Sun Belt Conference’s invitation more feasible financially. Giving was up by $2.1 million from $4.1 million in FY21.

Published: Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Last Updated: Tuesday, August 16, 2022

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