Davidson College Celebrates Record-Breaking Fundraising, Remarkable Engagement, Extraordinary Impact

With help from alumni family members faculty, staff, and family members, Davidson College celebrated a record-breaking year of fundraising.

Davidson College wrapped up a tremendous fiscal year June 30, 2024, celebrating a record-breaking fundraising total of $130.8 million.

It was previously $115 million. The record-breaking total for this year is $19.4 million donated through The Fund for Davidson and $31.8 million that was earmarked from the endowment fund of the college.

“What an incredible year to be a student at Davidson College! Record-breaking numbers reflect the loyalty and devotion to our students,” stated our president Doug Hicks ’90. “I’ve been aware for quite a while that Davidson students show up to Davidson and are always there and are eager to help the students we have and to help us prepare for our next. I’m excited to discover what we, as a team can accomplish over the next year. I would like to express my sincere thanks to each person who made the ‘Cats their top priority this year. It’s a great thing you can do.”

Fundraising highlights:

• Over $15.5 million has been raised to support scholarships, which will help Davidson keep its tradition of accepting students without considering what they can pay and meet the needs of students, without including loans in financial aid packages.
• More than 1,200 students who graduated within the last decade gave gifts.
• The college was able to celebrate more than 1,280 gifts from households on the Ne Ultra level. It is the Ne Ultra Society is Davidson’s annual giving society for leadership.
• Davidson Athletics raised more than $8.6 million in the fiscal year to help athletes and coaches be successful across the university’s 21 Division I programs.
• Over 85% of expected costs have been sourced to fund the planned library transformation that will result in The George Lawrence Abernethy Library.
• The literary, visual and performance arts which includes WDAV Public Radio, has raised the equivalent of $2.4 million to support the arts.
• The rate of alumni giving continues to be among the top five among all universities and colleges (41 percent).

The year also saw the launch of the women’s charitable initiative, Women ACT that was announced in conjunction with The College’s 50years of coeducation celebration. The new leadership donations to the initiative have surpassed $11 million, which is more than the $10 million target and includes donors who represent women alumni (spanning 1977 to 2017) as well as family members as well as staff and faculty members who were former as well as current and former employees of the Board of Trustees. It is the Wildcat Women Fund, as an innovative Fonds to Davidson designation in the Women ACT effort, has attracted more than 420 donors and has pledged more than $1.1 million, which is more than the goal of $1 million for this year’s top priority area wellness and student health.

“Find us a better group of alums and families … we’ll wait,” said Deidra Smith, the senior director of family and alumni engagement. “Every day we receive messages about Davidsonians who are deeply committed to the special place they call home, and who desire to make a significant lasting impact on our students, on campus as well as for each other. They are selfless and unendingly generous. It’s not something everyone else can appreciate, but we’re blessed.”