Greetings fellow Tigers! Yet again, the Clemson family has amazed me with another record-breaking year for philanthropy at Clemson.
Thanks to 24,491 alumni, friends, parents and corporations who made gifts this year, our total dollars raised is more than $156 million! This total is made up of $95.9 million cash, gift-in-kind and pledges, $15.9 million in planned gifts and $44.7 million in IPTAY annual gifts. $1.5 million was unrestricted and 99 donors gave over $2 million to the Leadership Circle program.
This is the largest annual fundraising total in Clemson’s history, an achievement that was made possible by each and every one of you – our donors. It has been an extraordinary year! We surpassed our fundraising goals. We were named among the top-25 national public universities for the tenth consecutive year. And we’ve watched the groundbreaking of capital projects. Your hard work and devotion to this University are making a real impact on Clemson students, helping us to take the steps necessary to reach our goal of becoming a top-20 public university.
I am excited to celebrate Clemson’s many accomplishments with you, and I am continuously amazed by your dedication and determination to support our University. Your contributions make a difference! Here’s the proof:
• 88 new scholarships and fellowships created.
• 64 new endowments created.
• 51,840 total number of gifts.
• 23.7% alumni participation.
In 2018, we also launched the Cornerstone Partners for Academics program, modeled after the successful Cornerstone Partners for Athletics program. The Cornerstone program is made up of visionary individuals who commit transformational funding of $2.5 million or more to help set the course for Clemson’s future success as one of the nation’s top-ranked public universities. Cornerstone gifts celebrated this year included:
• $4 million from Tom and Karen Chapman, Clemson’s inaugural Cornerstone Partner for Academics.
• $2.5 million from Joe and Gretchen Erwin, Clemson’s second Cornerstone Partner for Academics.
• $2.5 million from Gerald and Candi Glenn, Clemson’s ninth Cornerstone Partner for Athletics.
Overall, there were 17 one-time gifts exceeding $1 million, including $8.3 million in contributions to the Snow Family Outdoor Fitness and Wellness Center, the Samuel J. Cadden Chapel and College of Business capital projects.
You can read the press release summarizing this year’s fundraising results here. Click below to watch a video highlighting the impact of fundraising in 2018.
We are fortunate to have great leadership at Clemson who are responsible for so much of our fundraising success. From President Clements, to our executive leadership team, to our amazing board members, they work diligently to set and reach bigger and better goals for Clemson each year. Our Board of Trustees are meeting for the next two days, and I’d like to thank them for their hard work and commitment to keeping Clemson at the top year after year.
The Clemson family is nothing short of remarkable, and we proved it yet again with another amazing philanthropic year for Clemson. And the best is yet to come! Together, we can impact future generations of Clemson students. Together, we can move Clemson forward. Thank you for your commitment to Clemson and for envisioning the possibilities of the future.
Go Tigers!
Brian O’Rourke
