UH Foundation raises over $115M for students, programs, research

The University of Hawaii Foundation raised $115.2 million in fiscal year 2024, exceeding its $100 million annual goal by 15%, marking the fourth consecutive year of surpassing the $100 million milestone.

The total came from 18,862 donors.

In comparison, previous years saw $103.6 million in 2023; $165 million in 2022, bolstered by a $50 million donation from Mark Zuckerberg and Dr. Priscilla Chan for ocean health; and $100 million in 2021.

Fiscal year 2020 saw a total of $84.7 million, up from $71.6 million in 2019.

The total represented an 11% increase for a fiscal year that coincided with the University of Hawai‘i Foundation’s launch of For UH For Hawaii, a campaign dedicated to supporting current and future students, faculty and researchers across all 10 UH campuses.

On November 1, the UH Foundation launched the historic $1 billion comprehensive campaign — the largest fundraising effort in the state’s history.

The Foundation announced that it had already surpassed $660 million in funds raised to support the UH projects and initiatives most vital to the people of Hawaii.

Giving in 2024 included nearly $10 million for programs supporting relief and recovery from the Aug. 8 Maui wildfires, with $1 million from the Stupski Foundation directly benefiting students.

Significant gifts included $5 million from Walter Dods Jr. for the Residences for Innovative Student Entrepreneurs Center, $3.76 million from John C. Couch to establish the first gastroenterology and hepatology fellowship program at UH Manoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine and $3.5 million from the Barbara Barnard Smith Foundation to endow a chair in the UH Manoa ethnomusicology program.

“It is incredible to see the broad support for UH, and the cumulative impact of each gift, growing stronger each year, especially following the launch of our historic $1 billion campaign,” Tim Dolan, vice president of advancement at UH and CEO of UH Foundation, said in a statement. “We are forever grateful for our alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends who believe in the mission of supporting our state university system.”

The number of gifts also increased by 3.6%, reaching 24,560, with many in memory of loved ones.

Alumni and other individuals made significant contributions to scholarships, research, and programming, such as a $2 million donation for nursing scholarships at UH Maui College and a scholarship for LGBTQ+ students in UH Manoa’s Shidler College of Business Master in Accounting program.

“Another year of growing and substantial support reinforces the validity of the audacious $1 billion fundraising goal we embraced for public higher education in Hawai‘i,” UH President David Lassner said in a statement. “It’s an endorsement in our students, faculty and researchers and the critical role for UH in building a better future for everyone in the islands. Every philanthropic dollar represents a vote of confidence in Hawai‘i’s university, and we are deeply grateful to every donor who believes in our mission, our people and our plan.”

The total included $30.5 million for student scholarships and aid, $41.9 million for faculty and academic support, and $593,538 raised during the university’s inaugural Giving Day.

Notable contributions include:

>> $1 million from the Stupski Foundation for a fund to provide immediate cash relief for UH students affected by the Maui fires.

>> $100,000 from Shidler College of Business alum Tom Wellman to create the Wellman Endowed Scholarship in Accountancy for students enrolled in Shidler’s master in accounting program, with a preference for students who identify as LGBTQ+. It is the second endowed scholarship with a preference for LGBTQ+ students at any UH campus and the first for Manoa.

>> $100,000 from the HPM Foundation to provide college scholarships for students enrolled at UH campuses across the state.

>> $3.76 million from Couch to establish the first-ever gastroenterology and hepatology fellowship program at the UH Manoa John A. Burns School of Medicine that will train physicians to treat liver diseases, including cancer, in the islands.

>> $1 million from UH alumnus and philanthropist businessman Jay H. Shidler to the UH Cancer Center to start the Director’s Innovation Fund, to allow UH Cancer Center Director Dr. Naoto T. Ueno to advance his vision for the lifesaving research being done at the center. Shidler also gave the Cancer Center $100,000 to help the center increase public awareness of its work as it moves to its next phase as an advanced research and patient care facility with the opening next year of its Early Phase Clinical Research Center.

>> $700,000 from Ala­ka‘ina Foundation for programs and scholarships that support Native Hawaiian students at UH Community Colleges, including the Cognition Learning Center at Kauai Community College.

>> $650,000 from Hawai‘i Pacific Foundation to support the UH Manoa Thompson School of Social Work &Public Health, the Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence Support Endowment at JABSOM, I Hoa Na Mo‘olelo at the Hawai‘inu­iakea School of Hawaiian Knowledge and the Ho‘o­pu­liko Kumu Hou Education Pathway program at UH West Oahu.

>> $160,000 from Ala­ka‘ina Foundation and Hawai‘i Pacific Foundation for the Kauka Noa Emmett Auwae Aluli Memorial Scholarship at the UH Manoa John A. Burns School of Medicine.

>> $540,000 from Ala­ka‘ina Foundation to create partnerships for UH West Oahu, Leeward Community College and Windward Community College with community groups to promote sustainability.

>> $100,000 from the Edmund C. Olson Trust 2 to the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management for the Edmund C. Olson Trust 2 Scholarship, with a preference for students from the Ka‘u District on Hawaii Island.

>> $5 million from Dods for the Residences for Innovative Student Entrepreneurs at UH Manoa, which was renamed the Walter Dods Jr. RISE Center in his honor.

>> $3.5 million to UH Manoa from the Barbara Barnard Smith Foundation to fund the music department’s first-ever endowed chair. The newly established Professor Barbara Barnard Smith Endowed Chair supports the university’s desire and commitment to revitalize its innovative ethnomusicology program, which educates students in world music with a special focus on Asia and the Pacific.

>> $5 million from Marc and Lynne Benioff in support of the state’s Hawai‘i Healthcare Education Loan Repayment Program (HELP) to help retain health professionals on Hawaii Island.

>> $2 million gift from the Gilbert and Aileen Chuck Foundation to create the Kam Scholars Program for the UH Maui College nursing program, full scholarships for the top-ranked students in the associate of science in nursing (ASN) program.

>> $1.1 million from Rie Wong to establish the Edwin &Rie Wong Endowment Fund to provide academic and student support for UH Manoa student-athletes who are graduates of Hawai’i high schools. The endowment is open to male and female student-athletes in any sport and extends to helping them with the costs of attending summer school.

>> Student aid and special programs were top beneficiaries for the fiscal year, with $30.6 million going to student aid and $37.4 million going to special programs, an increase of 59% from the previous year for the two categories combined.

>> Student aid awards grew 16.4% to $19.7 million, while the number of students receiving aid grew 3.1%.

>> Within the student aid category, $26.1 million went to student scholarships, awards, fellowships and grants, while $4.5 million went to support general student aid and services.

>> Research received $13.7 million, while chairs and professorships received $6.5 million, three times the previous year’s total of $2.1 million.

>> Alumni giving rose to $30.9 million, 25.1% more than $24.7 million the previous year, while the number of alumni who gave rose 6.3% to 11,324, from 10,656 the previous year.

>> Giving from parents and students totaled $323,176 while giving by friends of UH rose to $31.1 million and gifts from faculty and staff totaled $9.6 million.

>> The amount received from corporations and foundations remained steady at $40 million, but the number of organizations giving rose 23.2% to 1,120, from 909 in the previous year.