Donors support teaching and research with gifts totaling $614 million

Harvard University announced today (Sept. 27) that its gift receipts totaled $614 million in fiscal year 2007 — a $19 million increase over fiscal year 2006.

Fiscal year 2007 fundraising results were the second-best in Harvard’s history, ranking behind fiscal year 2001, when the University raised $658 million. In that extraordinary year, Harvard received a one-time gift from the Ford Foundation of $50 million, as well as four other gift payments of $25 million or more.

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), which includes Harvard College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, received $205 million last year — $12 million (6 percent) higher than the previous year and $37 million (22 percent) higher than fiscal year 2005. This total represents the generosity of tens of thousands of donors, who have provided critical funds for the FAS to address core and emerging needs such as financial aid and fellowship programs, faculty expansion, undergraduate experience initiatives, research, and construction projects. Participation in the Harvard College Fund was 39 percent, unchanged from fiscal year 2006.

Harvard Law School’s campaign, which started in 2003, reached $385 million, and is well on target to surpass its goal of $400 million before June 30, 2008.

Among the many generous new commitments to Harvard announced in fiscal year 2007 were a $22.5 million gift from Bruce Wasserstein J.D. ’70, M.B.A. ’71 to the Harvard Law School campaign; a $14.6 million unrestricted gift from the estate of Hope Bartnett Belloc A.B. ’20 to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study; $12 million from the estate of Alfred Wood A.B. ’21 for scholarships; $10.8 million from Bernard Ackerman for faculty; $10.6 million of continued support for work in global health from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and $12 million from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for work in health policy and scholarships.