UF is orange and blue and a whole lot of green.
In a new record, the University of Florida Foundation raised $315 million in private donations in the past fiscal year, a $29 million bump from last year.
"We are humbled by the generosity of alumni and friends," said Tom Mitchell, the vice president for development and alumni affairs at the UF Foundation.
The money raised is used to provide scholarships and research opportunities. It also funds capital projects, which are campus improvements that use substantial resources, like money for buildings, plots of land and artwork, according to UF’s division of finance and accounting’s website.
Mitchell said one of the main reasons the UF Foundation gets funding is the Preeminence initiative, a program that provides funds for faculty and students interested in research on information systems, sustainability, health and education.
"I think we have extraordinary momentum fundraising with Preeminence, the number of new faculty joining and what our students are accomplishing across the country," he said.
One of the professors whose programs is funded through Preeminence is Juan Gilbert, who leads UF’s Human-Experience Research Lab.
"This program has been great for all of us," Gilbert said. "Without sufficient funding, we couldn’t do this innovative research or bring in graduate students that are the top in the county."
Donated resources, such as land and money, come from university benefactors. Two of these are Steve and Carol Shey, who donated art from their personal collection and more than 650 acres to the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art for a new conference center and retreat, Mitchell said. An anonymous donor gave $12.5 million to provide services for student-athletes, such as tutoring and academic advising.
Mitchell said he is optimistic that alumni and other community members will continue to respond positively to the improvements made with this year’s funding.
"Gators continue to respond to the call to enhance (the) quality of their institution," he said.
