The tradition of private support for UConn dates back to the University’s 1881 founding as the Storrs Agricultural School with a gift of farm land and funds from Charles and Augustus Storrs.
Today, thanks in large part to the generosity of thousands of individuals who believe in the promise of higher education, the University of Connecticut is ranked in the top 20 public research universities in the nation. Private gifts increasingly give UConn the edge among its peers in advancing teaching, research and public service. Your gift not only reflects your own passion, vision and values, it becomes an investment with inestimable return to others.
Why give to UConn?
Reason #1: Give back for what you received at UConn.
Perhaps it was the professor who showed you the power of words, the simple genius of numbers, or the complexity of everything around us. Maybe it was that moment in the stands at Gampel, Morrone or Rentschler when you jumped out of your seat in pure Husky bliss. It could be the first time you met your best friend, your best man, or the man you ended up marrying.
Whatever the reason, every one of the donors to the University of Connecticut has been touched by what UConn gave them—from an education to entertainment and everything in between. Giving back to the institution that gave you so much is just the natural thing to do.
Reason #2: To excel, UConn needs private support.
No matter what year you graduated, the University of Connecticut has been transformed since you last stepped on campus. An incredible infusion of state support, through the UCONN 2000 and 21st Century UConn initiatives, has ensured that our physical plant is now world-class.
But to continue attracting both the state's brightest and deserving students, UConn needs scholarship support, which is heavily funded through private donations. It needs research support, to enable its scientists and researchers to push the limits and dare to explore, in ways that traditional funding doesn't allow. The flexibility of private support offers that. And lastly, UConn's programs, from the Division of Athletics to the UConn Health Center, and dozens of places in between, need private support to maintain the high standards that UConn is known for.
UConn is ranked as the 19th best public research university in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. Only a sustained commitment of private support can keep us there.
Reason #3: No matter what your passion, you can support it at UConn.
The UConn Foundation manages about 1,400 funds that support every aspect of the University. Want to support Human Rights? Scholarships? Faculty Research? The Environment? Chances are, there's a fund that supports it. Or, give to the unrestricted accounts like The Fund for UConn, which can be put to use on the areas of greatest need for the University. Give to what your passion is! Ninety-five percent of every dollar raised is put to work supporting UConn's students, faculty and programs, using the funds managed by the Foundation.
Reason #4: UConn is part of the fabric of our community, our state and our region.
There are nearly 140,000 UConn alumni in Connecticut and neighboring states. Chances are, if you live in Connecticut, one of your neighbors—or someone in their family—went to UConn. You can see it in the "University of Connecticut" alumni stickers you see on cars on I-91, I-95 and I-84; hear it on the airwaves; and watch it on the flags hung outside houses from Andover to Middletown to Woodstock.
When you give to UConn, you support the entire state of Connecticut and its future. UConn's students today are your doctors, business owners, artists, employees, employers, lawyers and elected officials of tomorrow.
The following map, provided by the UConn Department of Geography, shows the number of alumni in each of Connecticut's counties and across the region. Click on your home town to see the corresponding UConn Alumni Association chapter for your area.
Reason #5: Because state support and tuition doesn't cover everything.
That the University of Connecticut is a public university doesn't mean that its aspirations are provided for by public dollars. The truth is, state support and tuition only provide about 70 percent of UConn's operating revenue. The rest comes from grants, other sources and donors like you.
Reason #6: This is our moment.
A renovated infrastructure. World-class research. Nationally known athletics. A Top 20 ranking nationally as a premier public research university. In UConn's history, there has never been a better congruence of success upon success. This is our University, and this is our moment. Please donate to support UConn now.
