Discovery
Winter 2016 % Volume 2, No. 1
the newsletter from washington and lee university school of law
su cce s s
Campaign and Annual Fund Exceed Expectations
W
ashington and Lee School of Law concluded a seven-year capital campaign on June 30, exceeding its $35 million goal by over $2.6 million. The school also set a record for its 2014–15 Law Annual Fund. The Law School’s multi-year fundraising effort was part of the university’s $500 million campaign, Honor Our Past, Build Our Future. The university raised $542.5 million in all, exceeding its target by 8 percent. As with the university, the top funding priority for the Law School’s campaign was student financial aid. The Law School raised over $14 million for endowed scholarships and other forms of student aid to help make law school more affordable. Another top campaign funding priority was the Law Annual Fund. The School raised nearly $9 million for the annual fund over the life of the campaign, which helped set a new record for annual fund giving during the 2014–15 cycle. The School established a goal of $1.3 million for the 2014–2015 Law Annual Fund, a 33 percent increase over the previous year. In the end, the Law School raised $1.34 million.
“The Law Annual Fund is central to W&L Law’s continued success in the changing law school environment,” said Dean Brant Hellwig. “The Strategic Transition Plan announced by the Board of Trustees and President Ken Ruscio last spring calls for greater levels of annual giving, so we are grateful to the many alumni, as well as members of our faculty and staff, who made gifts this year to help us surpass this benchmark.” The goal for the 2015-16 Law Annual Fund is $1.5 million. The Law School also raised over $3.5 million for the renovation of Sydney Lewis Hall. The first phase of the renovation, completed last summer, focused on the building’s exterior. The second phase created improved spaces for the School’s clinics and much more space for students, including private group study rooms and a second large reading room. (See pg. 3 for photos.) Alumni participation was very strong during the campaign. Sixty-three percent of law alumni made at least one gift to the university during the campaign.
By The Numbers CAMPAIGN
LAW ANNUAL FUND—FISCAL YEAR 2015
$37,664,841
29
63%
raised in the Honor Our Past, Build Our Future campaign
new law scholarship endowments totaling over $14.4M created
of alumni made a gift during the life of the campaign
$1,342,912 raised
33.2%
9%
participation rate
of donors gave
$2,500 or more
Average gift amount
$969
94%
of faculty and 76% of staff made a gift in FY15