University Of North Carolina Tops $5 Billion In Record-Setting Capital Campaign

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) announced this month that it had topped the $5 billion mark as its “Campaign for Carolina” capital fundraising effort draws to a close. Begun in 2017 with an initial goal of $4.25 billion, the Campaign for Carolina is scheduled to wrap up on December 31, 2022.

UNC-CH hit the $4.25 billion mark in January of this year. Since then, it has raised an additional $800 million more, bringing the current total to $5,015,019,705.

With that amount, UNC-CH becomes one of just six public universities to fundraise $5 billion or more in a capital campaign. The others are the University of California, Berkeley; University of California, San Francisco; UCLA; University of Michigan; and the University of Washington.

The University of Texas currently has a $6 billion campaign underway. Earlier this year, the University of Virginia announced that it has crossed the $4 billion mark in its $5 billion “Honor the Future” campaign, and Yale University is conducting a five-year $7 billion campaign. Harvard University holds the record for the largest higher education capital campaign, at $9.6 billion. A frequently updated list of other college and university capital campaigns can be found here.

“I am immensely grateful for the community of donors and volunteers who have supported us on this journey,” said Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz in the university’s announcement. “Their generosity represents a strong affirmation of our mission of teaching, research and service. Reaching this milestone ensures that Carolina will continue to prepare generations of students and scholars to solve the grand challenges of our time.”

UNC-CH’s Campaign for Carolina was organized around three priorities:

• Students and the Educational Experience;
• Faculty and Scholarship; and
• Innovation and Impact.

Fundraising will continue in the final month of the campaign, with the University still aiming to raise $1 billion for student scholarships and fellowships. Currently, it has brought in $990 million toward that goal.

The Numbers

As of Nov. 16, 2022:

• More than 215,000 donors had contributed to the campaign, including 106,000 new donors, more than 96,000 alumni donors, and almost 4,800 faculty and staff members.
• 74 donors gave $10 million or more, and 721 donors gave $1 million or more.
• $50 was the median gift to the campaign.

Celebrating the milestone, Chancellor Guskiewiczis called the record-setting campaign “a remarkable achievement. Not just because of the numbers — as remarkable as they are — but because of the impact the Campaign for Carolina will have on our campus and state, our nation and the world. Every gift played a role in the campaign’s success and was a testament to your excellence and the incredible work our community does every day.”