August 15, 2002

Duke University received $264,580,049 in charitable gifts in the 2001-02 fiscal year, a slight increase over the previous year.

The total came from 87,716 donors, including 43,049 alumni, both small decreases from the previous year's record donor numbers. Funds received were about $155,000 more than in 2000-01.

"The past months have been very difficult for our country, and it is easy to understand why financial priorities have shifted," said Duke President Nannerl O. Keohane. "We are grateful that so many people continue to support Duke, even in such circumstances. Their generosity has helped us to make steady progress toward meeting the university's highest priority goals, which remain essential in any economy."

In February 2001, Duke's trustees adopted a strategic plan, Building on Excellence, that seeks new funds for faculty support, strengthening science and engineering, promoting diversity in the student body and staff, and expanding the university's reach both locally and globally, among other key institutional priorities. Much of the year's giving was directed to those needs.

The $264.6 million received in the 12 months between July 1, 2001, and June 30, 2002, was the second-largest philanthropic giving total in Duke history, behind only 1999-2000, when Duke received more than $300 million.

The largest donor to Duke in the fiscal year that just ended was The Duke Endowment of Charlotte, the charitable trust created by university founder James B. Duke, which gave more than $33.5 million for a variety of purposes, including scholarships and academic and community outreach programs. Also included in the year's receipts were portions of a $35 million commitment from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for an undergraduate science facility and student life initiatives, and portions of the $25 million challenge grant from alumni Pete and Ginny Nicholas of Boston that created the Nicholas Faculty Leadership Initiative.

The Nicholases are co-chairs of the Campaign for Duke, the university's $2 billion fund-raising effort. The campaign, which began in 1996 and is scheduled to end in December 2003, stood at more than $1.8 billion in pledges and cash receipts at the end of the fiscal year.

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