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October 5, 2021

Yale launches $7 billion fundraising campaign with $3.5 billion already pledged

PHOTO | Yale News/Tony Fiorini Yale University President Peter Salovey
By Liese Klein

With a multimedia event live-streamed worldwide, Yale launched its $7 billion capital campaign this weekend with the theme “For Humanity.”

The fundraising drive, set to continue until 2026, was launched to bolster the university’s $31 billion endowment.

Yale President Peter Salovey said, “Through this campaign we will provide vital support for Yale faculty, students and staff who are leading work that has the potential to transform society, deepen human understanding and open doors to greater prosperity and well-being for millions.”

On a concrete level, the university said it would use its new funding to expand financial aid, make its collections more accessible, prioritize research on topics including how inflammation affects the human body and promote partnerships to address climate change.

In the rollout, Yale spokespeople highlighted four focus areas for the campaign: “Arts and Humanities for Insight,” “Science for Breakthroughs,” “Collaborating for Impact” and “Leaders for a Better World.”

More than $3.5 billion has already been pledged in advance of the official launch of the capital campaign during a multiyear quiet phase, the university said in a statement. 

High-profile donations so far include David Geffen’s $150 million naming gift for the Yale School of Drama and seed funding for the new Center for Natural Carbon Capture and the Wu Tsai Institute, a center for the study of human cognition. 

Donors to the campaign gave more than $1 billion in fiscal 2020–2021 alone, Yale’s highest annual giving total ever, the university said. 

Joan O’Neill, vice president for alumni affairs and development, said, “This nucleus fund, which includes gifts of all sizes, puts us on track to meet our campaign goal by 2026, and I am deeply grateful to everyone who has already contributed to make our campaign a success.”

Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.

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