For Humanity Campaign Report 2022–2023
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Message from the President
Message from the President
At Yale, we aspire to improve the world. We aim to educate the next generation of leaders across disciplines, to conduct research that tackles society’s greatest challenges, and to contribute understanding and knowledge that enriches and advances humanity.
We dare to achieve so much because we are confident in the support of this incredible community of donors. With the generosity of Yale alumni, parents, and friends, we turn these goals into reality. Your belief in and support for our mission are the true spirit of the For Humanity campaign. Without you, none of this is possible.
With appreciation,
President Peter Salovey ’86 PhD
By the Numbers
The year was a success thanks to the alumni, parents, and friends who made gifts and the dedicated fundraising volunteers who spread enthusiasm for giving back to Yale.
For Our World
Tackling the Greatest Issues of Today
From first-time gifts to the Yale Alumni Fund to endowment gifts to bequests, every For Humanity campaign contribution supports Yale’s mission to make the world a better place. The impacts of these gifts will be felt globally, as Yale faculty, students, and alumni work to solve the greatest problems facing humanity, uncover new insights, enlighten, and inspire.
Impact Stories
Driving the Clean Energy Transition
With donor support, the Yale Center for Business and the Environment launches a new summer program for undergraduate and graduate students interested in the clean energy field.
Transforming Cancer Care Through the Microbiome
A generous donation has brought together an interdisciplinary group of Yale researchers to examine how the microbiome affects BRCA-related cancers.
New Gift Expands Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale
The Blavatnik Family Foundation, whose historic gift in 2016 helped create what has become Yale’s flagship life science accelerator, has made an additional $40 million donation.
Ensuring a Stronger Future for Political Institutions
Researchers at the Democratic Innovations program seek insights into political institutions.
Setting the Stage for a New Dramatic Arts Facility
Donors are bringing a new center for the dramatic arts closer to reality.
LUX Lights the Way
Yale debuts a groundbreaking search tool spanning more than forty million records from Yale’s museum and library collections.
For Our Students
Financial Aid by the Numbers
Financial aid opens doors for students. Donors are the key. During the For Humanity campaign, Yale aims to raise $1.2 billion for student scholarships and fellowships across the university. Including the funds raised in fiscal 2023, donors have contributed more than $800 million in total so far toward educating leaders for a better world.
Pairing theoretical learning in the classroom with practical, relationship-building experience on the ground was invaluable. My professors and instructors helped me connect things I was seeing and experiencing myself. To be able to walk away from the program with essentially no debt was incredible.
I would not have been able to attend Yale without financial aid. I was raised by a single mom who homeschooled my sister and me through eighth grade. Seeing the weight lifted off my mom’s shoulders when I got the financial aid reward from Yale really drove home how vital financial support can be.
My American dream started at Yale, and it’s all thanks to financial aid. I would never have been able to move to the United States without the financial support I received as a doctoral student.
The scholarship made such a difference in my ability to start ARIX Technologies. I was able to not take a paycheck for two years and then make essentially minimum wage for a couple more as I got my business off the ground. I care so much about the culture at our company and about making a difference in the world.
Impact Stories
Expanding Access to Yale School of Medicine
A $25 million gift from The Starr Foundation brings YSM closer to becoming debt free.
Cultivating a Love for Science
For Anaa Andriyash ’26 PhD, Yale is fertile ground for pioneering lab research in molecular biology.
Supporting the Next Generation of Architects
A new scholarship fund moves Yale School of Architecture closer to a debt-free future.
For Our Community
Coming Together
Members of the Yale community supported the university in myriad ways this year. From volunteering and reuniting to attending For Humanity Illuminated events in five cities, Yale’s alumni, parents, and friends gathered for our shared purpose all year long.
Annual Giving
More than 30,000 donors from 50 states and 79 countries gave to the Yale Alumni Fund, which supports excellence in education, student life, teaching, and more. Alumni Fund gifts added up to have a big impact for students across the university, with many directed to the For Humanity campaign’s $1.2 billion financial aid goal. Among these were 476 new Nathan Hale Associates scholarships and fellowships established by leadership donors.
The average Alumni Fund gift was $1,473, and 30 percent of all gifts were $50 or less. More than two thousand Alumni Fund volunteers reached out to fellow alumni to make it all possible.
$45M
Given to the Yale Alumni Fund
Brett Zbar ’94
“Contributions to the Yale Alumni Fund have an instant impact, directing vital support to areas of utmost importance and making Yale accessible to students in need. I am so proud to be part of Yale’s longstanding tradition of giving back and collective efforts to do good.”
Reunion Giving
Thirteen classes celebrated their Yale College reunions in 2023, from the Class of 2018’s 5th reunion to the Class of 1958’s 65th. In total, nearly 7,000 alumni and guests returned to campus for the celebrations in late May and early June.
Cumulatively, members of reunion classes gave $66,455,879 this year, more than $40 million over their goal. Their contributions of all sizes supported every part of the university. The Class of 2008 set a new reunion giving record, earning first place all-time for a 15th reunion gift. The Class of 1973 surpassed $1 million in giving to the Alumni Fund for their 50th Reunion, becoming one of only a handful of classes to ever reach this milestone.
$66.5M
Given by reunion classes
Mallet Njonkem ’18
“Volunteering with the Reunion Gift Committee, I’ve fostered deeper bonds with classmates, celebrating our enduring tie to Yale. The potency of alumni-driven outreach is rooted in personalized communication, drawing from our shared journey. Giving back is my tribute to these invaluable memories, laying the foundation for Yale’s forthcoming generations.”
Parent Giving
Non-alumni parents from around the world contributed a combined $39 million in new commitments to Yale in 2023. Their gifts go toward professorships, scholarships, and vital research. In addition to giving generously to Yale College, parents this year supported key areas of the university including the Yale Cancer Center and the School of the Environment.
The Parents Annual Fund alone raised $5.1 million—an all-time record, surpassing their $4.25 million goal. Gifts to the Parents Fund help bolster all aspects of the undergraduate experience, including financial aid and residential college life.
$39.1M
Given by Yale College parents
Chris McGowan & Sandy Wang P ’24
“It is our immense pleasure to support the undergraduate experience at Yale through philanthropy and volunteer service. Yale offers an exceptional educational experience, and we know that today’s students will go on to have a big impact in the world. We are proud to be part of this community.”
For Humanity Campaign Committee
The committee helps execute the fundraising and engagement strategies of the campaign and champions the impact that its success will make possible. Many members also lead regional and task-based groups composed of additional volunteers who serve as ambassadors for the campaign around the world.
Alumni Fund Board of Directors
The board’s mission is to guide and support the fundraising programs of the Alumni Fund, Yale’s annual giving program, to raise unrestricted gifts for immediate use.
Parents Leadership Council
These committed parents are ambassadors of the university, and they provide leadership support for Yale’s highest priorities.
Financials
Commitments by Source
Individual donors, including alumni, parents, and friends, provided 64 percent of the giving total. Organizations, including corporations and foundations, provided 36 percent.
Alumni
Corporations
Foundations
Other individuals
Other organizations
Parents
Commitments by Category: Endowment
Of $648.5 million in commitments, nearly $242 million was directed to Yale’s endowment, the key resource supporting professorships, scholarships, curriculum development, and other essential functions of the university. Yale’s spending and investment policies provide substantial levels of cash flow to the operating budget for current needs, while preserving endowment purchasing power for future generations.
Financial Aid
Research and Publications
Other Programs and Purposes
Unrestricted
Professorships
Other Categories*
*Other Categories includes Art and Library Acquisitions ($0.2M); Facilities and Maintenance ($0.05M); Teaching and Faculty Support ($1.1M).
Annual Giving
Reunion Giving
The Yale Endowment
The endowment contributed $1.75 billion to the university’s operating budget. This figure represents 34 percent of Yale’s net revenues. More than 37 percent of new gifts and pledges, or $241.9 million, were directed to the Yale endowment. With these gifts and a 1.8 percent investment return, the endowment’s value was $40.75 billion as of June 30, 2023.
Impact of Gifts to the Endowment
Since 1950, nearly 79 percent of the endowment’s value has derived from gifts and the
investment performance on those gifts. Over the past twenty years, Yale’s endowment has
significantly outperformed the median endowment, with annualized returns of 10.9 percent as of
June 30, 2023.
1950 endowment without subsequent gifts (billions)
Actual endowment market value (billions)
Effect of Investment Performance on Gifts
Yale’s endowment performance multiplies the impact of your endowed gift. This chart shows the
growth of a $100,000 scholarship over ten years in the Yale endowment as compared with the
mean endowment performance of a broad universe of colleges and universities. Over the ten
years ending June 30, 2023, a $100,000 scholarship at Yale would have grown to $281,213
exclusive of spending. With annual payouts, this same fund would have grown to $184,539 while also producing $63,141 to support students.
Yale Endowment
Mean of broad universe of colleges and universities
