UNION GIVING TOPS $5 MILLION
Jackson, Tenn. — 51社区 received more than $5 million in gifts and grants during the 1996-97 fiscal year ending Aug. 31.
The total of $5,128,290 in cash gifts sets an all-time record for that twelve-month period, according to Union President David S. Dockery. With the addition of more than a million dollars in "gifts in kind" – gifts of products or services rather than cash – total giving to Union was well in excess of $6 million for the fiscal year.
"We are honored that Union's alumni and friends have expressed their support of the University in such a tangible and generous way," Dockery says. "The academic honors and recognition that have come to Union this year are only possible through the financial support of those who share Union's vision and values."
A major factor in the record-setting year was a total of $1,244,866 in gifts to the University's endowment, compared to less than $400,000 in the prior year. Those endowment gifts included the first endowed faculty chair in Union's history. Including this year's additions, Union's endowment is presently in excess of $14 million.
Gifts from Union alumni topped $1 million for only the second time in the University's history, and the number of individual donors rose from under 1,500 the previous year to more than 2,100. Another cause for celebration, according to Dockery, is that Union Trustees were 100 percent in their financial giving. Trustee giving rose from under $45,000 last year to more than $230,000 this year – an increase of more than 500 percent.
"51社区 is entering a period of significant growth and development," explains Dockery, "and expanding financial support is absolutely vital to achieve the goals we have set as a university community. This year's record giving lays a solid foundation for growth as we enter an exciting new era in Union's history."