$1.180B
Commitments
$738.5M
Cash
43,868
Donors
2,900
Volunteers
Yale University’s strengths in neuroscience were catapulted to new heights this year when Joseph Tsai ’86, ’90 JD and Clara Wu Tsai made a historic gift to launch the Wu Tsai Institute, a singular research enterprise dedicated to the study of human cognition. At the Wu Tsai Institute, Yale’s world-renowned researchers across the psychological, biological, and computational sciences will come together under one roof to uncover new ideas and insights into our minds. “The world’s great universities are built to pursue consequential questions, and nothing is more foundational than understanding the mystery of the human brain,” says Joseph Tsai. “Clara and I believe that Yale has the right combination of people, resources, and collaborative culture to lead to a better understanding of this big question.”
Yale’s drama school received the largest gift in the history of American theater, thanks to David Geffen. As a result, drama students will no longer need to pay tuition to attend the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University. Geffen’s generosity positions the school as the only dramatic arts institution of its kind to be tuition free. “Removing the tuition barrier will allow an even greater diversity of talented people to develop and hone their skills in front of, on, and behind Yale’s stages,” reflects Geffen. “I hope this gift will inspire others to support similar efforts to increase accessibility and affordability for arts education at colleges and universities across the country.”
Earth’s rapidly accelerating climate and biodiversity crises call for bold solutions. The Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture, established with a landmark gift from FedEx, will focus on reducing atmospheric carbon to establish a healthier planet for all. Central to the university’s Planetary Solutions Project, the center will support researchers from an array of fields to facilitate critical work aimed at developing new methods for capturing carbon based on the earth’s natural processes. “At FedEx, we have a responsibility to take action in addressing climate change,” says Frederick Smith ’66, the company’s founder, chairman, and CEO. “Yale has a deep reservoir of expertise and researchers working on this shared problem, which makes it the ideal place for this important work.”
The global pandemic, accelerating climate crisis, and other existential challenges demand new and inventive approaches to safeguard our planet’s future. Donors have answered this call, supporting such initiatives as the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the Yale Sustainable Food Program. They are also helping to ensure that scientists can continue to make progress against COVID-19, while remaining vigilant against other global outbreaks with gifts to the Rapid Response Fund.
This year, Yale committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2035 and achieving zero actual carbon emissions by 2050. In addition to the Center for Natural Carbon Capture, another significant project, the Living Village at Yale Divinity School, will help the university to achieve this goal. Building on a foundational gift from Carol Bauer and George Bauer, additional alumni and friends pledged their support this year for the complex, which will bear a zero-carbon footprint. Constructed entirely of recycled and environmentally friendly materials, the Living Village will also collect and refine its water on site, handle waste, produce solar electricity, and supply surplus power to the Sterling Divinity Quadrangle.
Yale is committed to the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). Our alumni, parents, and friends help to accelerate work in these critical areas, championing initiatives that build and sustain community, deepen understanding, and bridge the gap between perceived differences.
Many of Yale’s professional schools, including architecture, law, and management, have set up funds to advance DEIB initiatives, and donor support is helping to further their work. Unrestricted gifts to the graduate and professional schools’ alumni and annual funds also support equity in access and education across the university.
In Yale College, cultural centers have for decades served as social hubs for students of various ethnicities and backgrounds. This year, donors celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the Asian American Cultural Center by giving to the Dean Mary Li Hsu Discretionary Fund. The fund, named for the center’s first director, will support first-generation, low-income Asian and Asian American students at Yale.
Donor contributions also help our students promote equity in the wider world. Support for the Yale Law School’s Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic, for example, enables actions like the representation of Latino pallet workers seeking better working conditions and the examination of COVID-19’s impact on Connecticut’s nursing home workers and residents. And at the School of Medicine, several donors supported the school’s Cultural Ambassadors Program, which links its investigators to local resources that advance health equity and access in the community.
$304.9M
Commitments to support
financial aid across Yale
$283.1M
Directed to endowed
scholarships and fellowships
$20.3M
Given to be spent immediately
to support students
Alumni, parents, and friends came together once more this year to support a thriving undergraduate community.
In the Yale College Class of 2025, 51 percent identify as students of color, and 16 percent are the first in their families to attend college. For many first-generation, low-income (FGLI) students, the First-Year Scholars at Yale program provides the roadmap for living and learning on campus, while connecting them to the peers and resources that enrich their college years. Throughout the academic year, Yale College Safety Net helped students who encountered emergency expenses, such as medical care, technology support, and warm clothing. And summer work and study awards were restructured to ensure that both domestic and international students could afford to take advantage of pivotal learning and internship opportunities. These crucial programs were made possible by contributions of all sizes to the Yale College Alumni Fund and gifts to endowed funds.
“Yale really supports students like me who want to go abroad. It’s a great gift to be able to take advantage of these resources and learn as much as I can.... One of the greatest things I’ve learned is that exploring any combination of your interests, regardless of how distinct or ‘niche,’ is valuable. Being at Yale means you can be anything you want to be.”
—Endure McTier SY ’22
Mental health and wellbeing are crucial to students’ success; about 60 percent of students seek such services at least once during their time at Yale. Generous gifts from Carla Solomon ’75 and Antonio Magliocco, Jr. ’74 and other donors have addressed this critical need, launching Yale College Community Care, or YC3. With offices in the residential colleges, YC3 clinicians and specialists offer students convenient and consistent access to care, helping to manage their stress, foster resilience, and prevent crises.
Each year, thousands of promising students come to Yale to fulfill their biggest dreams and learn how to make our world a better place. An affordable education is vital to their success. Gifts to financial aid help students enroll in the program of their choice, explore every opportunity, and earn their degrees without concern for cost. From annual gifts of $25 for student support to endowments funding scholarships and fellowships in perpetuity, every contribution made a difference.
In 2020–2021, alumni, parents, friends, and organizations generously contributed so that Yale could get even closer to achieving this goal. From annual gifts of $25 for student support to endowments funding scholarships and fellowships in perpetuity, every contribution made a difference.
Yale College offers one of the nation’s most generous financial aid packages, meeting the full demonstrated need of every student. Families earning less than $75,000 are not expected to contribute to the cost of their child’s Yale education. Gifts to financial aid make this possible.
At the Graduate School, donor-funded fellowships helped students investigate their biggest questions, collaborating with peers and mentors across fields to identify new avenues of inquiry. Stipends and grants ensured the door to Yale remained open, reducing unnecessary barriers to successful study and research.
And in the professional schools, donor support continued to make it possible for students to achieve their highest goals and aspirations. With lower loan amounts, students could more freely pursue their preferred interests and industries without having to factor in debt or career compensation.
“Yale scholarships are incredibly important. Without a scholarship, I would not be able to call myself a Bulldog, nor would I have crossed paths with the many people I’ve been lucky enough to call my friends here.”
—Cade Brown SY ’23
“I’m a firm believer that it’s part of our job as researchers to contribute where we can to societal problems, like COVID-19. With my background and interests, I’m in a unique position to help. The support of donors allows us to do these cutting-edge things. Yale is one of the few places where this work can happen.”
—Alessandro Zulli ’26 PhD, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
“Receiving financial support to pursue my dream career at a prestigious university is both humbling and motivating. I feel fortunate that individuals and institutions have chosen to invest in my education and development. I hope to pay this spirit of giving forward in whatever way possible as I progress in my career.”
—Rachel Romero ’22 MSN, School of Nursing
“Yale has been a pivotal part of my life and the success I’ve enjoyed since graduating. Alumni support made a difference for me and all students when I was on campus, as it does now. As a volunteer leader, I am proud to help ensure that this important tradition continues.” —Marla Grossman ’90, P ’25, Alumni Fund Board of Directors chair
Over 33,000 donors from fifty US states and ninety countries made annual gifts totaling $24.6 million to the Yale Alumni Fund, which supports excellence in education, student life, teaching, and so much more. Several of the graduate and professional schools saw their alumni break new annual giving records, including the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the School of the Environment, the School of Nursing, the School of Public Health, and the Yale School of Management. And in Yale College, the Yale Leads for Students fall challenge raised $1.6 million from more than 2,000 donors for financial aid and student support. They join the thousands of alumni who supported faculty, facilities, athletics, and the university’s needs throughout the year.
Annual giving to Yale will play an important role in the university’s For Humanity campaign. To date, Yale has confirmed $140 million from 150,000 gifts toward its campaign target of $350 million from 350,000 gifts by 2026.
“Over the past year, we have been delighted to see the creativity, resilience, and generosity parents have shown in supporting Yale College and all of our students. We are honored to be part of this special community, and we look forward to working together in the ‘bright college years’ ahead.”
—Bonnie Siegel and Ira Siegel P ’15, P ’23, Parents Annual Fund chairs
Even as the pandemic continued, Yale parents contributed $23 million in new commitments and $25 million in cash to add to the university’s historic fundraising year. Countless students, faculty, staff, and community members will benefit significantly from their generosity. Major gifts from non-alumni parents include support for financial aid, the humanities, First-Year Scholars at Yale, cancer research at the School of Medicine, the Peabody Museum of Natural History, the Yale Schwarzman Center, and more.
This year, the Yale Parents Annual Fund also raised $4.2 million from non-alumni and alumni parents. An essential resource, the Parents Fund ensures that Dean Marvin Chun and his team can deliver the programming and resources that make the Yale College experience truly unique for all undergraduates.
“I was honored to co-lead and serve on our reunion gift committee in a truly unique year. I volunteered for the committee because I believe Yale is a force for good—for light and truth—and that we, as alumni, can help shape Yale’s leadership role in these particularly turbulent times through our fundraising efforts.”
—Parminder Singh ’06, 15th Reunion Gift Committee co-chair
Yale College classes commemorated their reunions with sixty-seven virtual events that kept more than 4,000 alumni connected, entertained, and informed. Reunion attendees were treated to a welcome address by President Salovey, a celebration of Yale singing, faculty lectures, and class panels on such topics as climate control and COVID-19 vaccinations. Opportunities for classmates to reconnect and share memories were plentiful, including trivia, class films, and more.
Together, reunion classes gave over $96 million during Yale’s historic fundraising year. Eight classes reached a top-ten status, with the Class of 1986 and the Class of 2016 reaching first place, all-time rankings. And Yale College’s first coeducational class, the Class of 1971, celebrated their 50th reunion in a big way: in addition to surpassing $1 million in giving to the Alumni Fund, the class also contributed their largest gift ever to Yale.
