Donations to benefit UH rise 17.5% to $77.6 million

The University of Hawaii Foundation, the fundraising arm of the UH system, attracted more than $77.6 million in donations for the year that ended June 30, officials announced Thursday.

Amid a healthier economy, this year’s gifts from businesses, foundations, alumni and other donors grew by more than $11.5 million, or 17.5 percent, over last year’s fundraising haul of just over $66 million.

The nonprofit UH Foundation raises money from the private sector to benefit students, faculty, research and programs at the university’s 10 campuses.

“Like anything, there are good years, and there are years when factors outside of Hawaii are influencing things. If the economy is doing better and people have more liquidity, then they’re going to be able to make more generous gifts,” said Margot Schrire, director of communications for the foundation. “In years when people are more challenged by the economy and other factors, they’re going to rein in on things. We’re always affected by the bigger context.”

The latest quarterly outlook by economists with the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism says Hawaii’s economy is expected to continue to see growth this year and next year. The forecast attributes the rosy outlook to the health of the national and global economies, performance of the state’s tourism industry, labor market conditions and the growth of personal income and tax revenues.

The bulk of the nearly $78 million the foundation raised last year — some 99 percent — is donor-directed, meaning donors decide how their gifts are to be used.

“A lot of what we’re doing is raising major gifts — gifts of $500,000, $1 million, several million dollars. Because the gifts are designated by the donors for specific purposes, it’s the donors who are driving where the support goes,” Schrire said.

In previous years, gifts to support student scholarships made up the largest donation category. This year, funds for faculty and academic support, and research received the largest pieces of the pie:

>> $25.3 million has been earmarked for faculty and academic support.

>> $22.1 million will benefit university research.

>> $11.5 million will go to student aid, including scholarships, fellowships and grants.

>> $4.4 million is set aside for athletic programs.

Other categories include donations for endowed chairs and professorships; libraries; property, buildings and equipment; program enrichment and special programs.

“This year 29,180 gifts were made to support programs people are passionate about,” Donna Vuchinich, president and CEO of the UH Foundation, said in a statement. “Every day we have the privilege of hearing from students and faculty who share how private support is making a difference in their lives. From funding globally recognized research in critical areas that affect us all including cancer and our environment, to making a quality college education possible, donors are making a difference.”

Gifts came from a mix of sources, including from businesses, foundations, alumni, parents, and faculty and staff. But the largest share — $25.5 million, or one-third of donations — came from “other individuals.”

Some of the donations over the past year included:

>> $1 million from L&L Drive-Inn founder Eddie Flores Jr. and his wife, Elaine, to the Shidler College of Business to establish an endowment for a lecture series.

>> $790,000 from the Hawaii Community Reinvestment Corp. to establish an endowed professorship in affordable housing at UH Manoa.

>> $130,000 raised by friends and fans of retired Wahine volleyball coach Dave Shoji to establish an endowed scholarship fund in the coach’s honor.

>> $100,000 from Kalaeloa Partners, which operates an electrical power plant on Oahu, for scholarships for Leeward Community College students.

>> $261,000 from SSFM International to fund four full undergraduate scholarships for civil and environmental engineering for four years, and one graduate student fellowship for urban and regional planning for four years. The Honolulu firm handles planning, project management, construction management and civil, structural and traffic engineering.

“We are most grateful to each and every donor for their vision and generosity,” Vuchinich said.