UHV raises record $3 million in donations during year
For the second year in a row, the University of Houston-Victoria set a fundraising record by raising more than $3 million in donations during the 2018-2019 fiscal year and achieving several smaller records, including the number of donors and support from alumni.
“The 2018-2019 fiscal year was an exceptional year for fundraising,” said Jesse Pisors, UHV vice president for advancement and external relations. “To go from just shy of $2 million in fundraising in 2017-2018 to breaking past $3 million in 2018-2019 has been phenomenal for the university. It is amazing to see how our alumni and the community are investing in UHV’s growth and mission to provide excellent higher education for our region.”
By Aug. 31, the end of the university’s fiscal year, UHV had received $3,245,449, a 63 percent increase from the previous year’s total. The donations came to the university through 1,575 gifts from 1,303 unique donors, including individuals, alumni, university employees, foundations, corporations and more. The year also was the fourth consecutive year UHV had a record number of donors.
“UHV is fortunate to be in a region that values education,” UHV President Bob Glenn said. “The university has big goals and ambitions for the future of higher education in the area, and it is a true testament to the heart of the community that it has rallied around UHV to support those goals. It is a humbling, exciting thing to receive that kind of ongoing support.”
In addition, the university received a record number of 618 alumni contributions totaling $86,685, up 56 percent from the previous fiscal year. This is in addition to an all-time high of 17 foundations that contributed to UHV and 116 corporations and other organizations, the second-largest number in this category in university history.
Besides these categories, the university’s employees set a record in 2018-2019 with 215 employees, or more than half of the university’s full-time employees, donating. This included an all-time high of 34 donors honored as members of the President’s Circle for donating at least 1 percent of their gross salaries.
“All of these donations are incredible testaments to the community’s support for UHV,” Pisors said. “It means so much to know that these individuals and organizations see our growth and plans for the future, and they are choosing to invest in that growth and trust UHV with their resources.”
The three areas with the most individual donations were the UHV Alumni Association, the General Scholarship Fund and the student food pantry JP’s Market. All donations in 2018-2019 were counted toward the university’s Here, We Go fundraising campaign. The campaign passed the $12 million goal at the beginning of October, nearly one year before the end of the campaign.
To learn more about how to donate to UHV, contact UHV University Advancement at 361-570-4812 or email Pisors at pisorsj@uhv.edu.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
Lauren Hightower-Emerson
361-570-4342