For Humanity Campaign Report 2024–2025
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
A Note from the President
A Note from the President
The first year of my presidency has affirmed something I’ve always known: Yale’s greatest strength is its people, especially those who give so that others may thrive.
Our university’s work saves lives, expands human understanding, and fuels innovation. None of it would be possible without the generosity of those who believe in Yale’s purpose and partner with us to advance it.
The dedication of Yale’s donor community inspires me and sustains the light that has guided Yale for more than three centuries. As we head into the final months of the For Humanity campaign, I thank you for carrying that light forward.
Maurie McInnis, President of Yale University
Fundraising Highlights, Fiscal 2025
In the fourth and penultimate year of the For Humanity campaign, Yale alumni, parents, and friends gave generously, bringing the campaign total to more than $6.4 billion. They supported the university in a variety of ways—by giving to the Yale Alumni Fund, contributing to areas of Yale that inspired them, sharing their intentions to support Yale through their estate plans, participating in their class reunion gifts, and volunteering.
Financials
Commitments by Area, Fiscal 2025
In fiscal 2025, spendable gifts made up 58 percent of the $748.9 million fundraising total, while 34 percent was directed to the endowment. Seven percent was designated for facilities.
Current Restricted
Current Unrestricted
Endowment
Facilities
Designation Pending
Commitments by Source, Fiscal 2025
Individual donors, including alumni, parents, and friends, provided 71 percent of the giving total. Organizations, including corporations and foundations, provided 29 percent.
Alumni
Parents
Other individuals
Corporations
Foundations
Other organizations
Annual Giving
Donors to the Yale Alumni Fund set a new record, with over $50 million given by 26,000 donors who made 38,000 commitments. These were in support of excellence in education, student life, teaching, financial aid, and more. Leadership donors established 450 Nathan Hale Associates scholarships and fellowships.
The average Alumni Fund gift was $1,315, and 47 percent of all gifts were $100 or less. More than 1,700 Alumni Fund volunteers reached out to fellow alumni to make it all possible.
$50M
Given to the Yale Alumni Fund
Annual Giving Totals, Fiscal 2025
Reunion Giving
Thirteen classes celebrated their quinquennial Yale College reunions in 2025, and over 7,000 alumni and guests returned to campus for the celebrations over two weekends this spring.
Cumulatively, members of reunion classes gave nearly $67 million this year. Their contributions of all sizes supported every part of the university. The Class of 1980 set a reunion giving record with the largest 45th reunion class gift in Yale’s history. The classes of 1960, 1990, 1995, and 2005 placed within the top ten for giving in honor of their respective reunions.
$66.9M
Given by Reunion Classes
Reunion Giving Totals, Fiscal 2025
Parent Giving
Yale parents established an unprecedented number of financial aid funds to support student scholarships and fellowships across the university this year. Parent donors gathered in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Dallas to build community and connect with Yale leadership.
In fiscal 2025, parents contributed over $27.6 million to Yale, with a record $5.1 million directed to the Parents Annual Fund. Members of the Parents Leadership Council contributed more than 40 percent of the Parents Annual Fund total. An additional $1.9 million was contributed by alumni who are also parents.
$27.6M
Given by Yale College parents
Parent Giving Totals, Fiscal 2025
The Yale Endowment
Yale’s endowment is a 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.
In fiscal 2025, the endowment contributed $2.1 billion to the university’s operating budget. This figure represents 34 percent of Yale’s net revenues. With new gifts and a 11.1 percent investment return, the endowment’s value was $44.15 billion as of June 30, 2025.
Yale’s endowment income is currently taxed at an annual rate of 1.4 percent. In July, Congress passed legislation that increased this tax to 8 percent, beginning July 1, 2026. This substantial increase will require the spending of resources that would otherwise go to support core activities including research, teaching, and student aid.
Giving to the Endowment
Approximately 34 percent of new gifts and pledges, or nearly $253 million, was directed to Yale’s endowment in fiscal 2025. More than 41 percent of endowment giving, or $105 million, supported scholarships and fellowships across the university. More than $47 million supported professorships.
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 ($5.1M); Teaching and Faculty Support ($0.1M).
Impact of Gifts to the Endowment
Since 1950, more than 79.2 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 9.7 percent as of June 30, 2025.
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, 2025, a $100,000 scholarship at Yale would have grown to $246,575 exclusive of spending. With annual payouts, this same fund would have grown to $160,469 while also producing $57,695 to support students.
Yale Endowment
Mean of broad universe of colleges and universities
Impact
Giving to Yale advances discovery, sustains our planet, and unlocks opportunities for students who will create a better future. Yale’s researchers generate breakthroughs across medical, social policy, scientific and technological, arts, and humanities fields—knowledge that advances humanity for the greater good.
To offset interruptions in federal funding, donors also supported the Yale Research Resilience Fund, a source of flexible support that university leaders can deploy to meet the needs of researchers as they cope with a changing landscape.
We’re now able to harness next-generation genomics and powerful artificial intelligence to find potential cures for this disease that affects more than ten million people.
If the best science in the world just sits on a shelf and nobody knows about it or can understand it, it will have very limited impact.
When Yale students sit in class, play on sports teams, do research, and live with veterans, it broadens their perspective and helps bridge the military-civilian divide.
Impact Stories
Stopping Parkinson’s—Even Before It Starts
The new Stephen and Denise Adams Center for Parkinson’s Disease Research aims to better understand Parkinson’s and prevent its devastating symptoms before they begin.
Unlocking the Mysteries of Memory Loss
Gene Ludwig ’73 JD and Carol Ludwig fund a new program at Yale School of Medicine to support research on neurodegenerative disorders.
Being Human in a Digital Age
The de Vries-Sherif Program on the Future of Humanity and Technology will examine what it means to exist in a technology-driven world.
Charting New Paths at Yale School of the Environment
With six endowed professorships—from plant eco-physiology to environmental justice—recently appointed or announced, the School of the Environment continues to lead as it celebrates its 125th year.
The Next Generation of Climate Leaders
The largest gift in the history of the School of the Environment expands pathways to careers combatting climate change.
Bright Stars, Bright Future
With a grant from Heising-Simons Foundation, the Tinsley Workshop highlights cutting-edge research on galaxies and our universe.
Financial Aid by the Numbers
With an ambitious goal of raising $1.2 billion for student scholarships and fellowships, the For Humanity campaign is transforming Yale’s ability to recruit, enroll, and support talented students from all backgrounds. From the start of the campaign through June 30, 2025, donors had contributed more than $1.08 billion to financial aid across the university, or 90 percent of the target.
Student Spotlight
A Rising Star in Epidemiology
Yale’s Science, Technology, and Research Scholars Program, or STARS, has helped Jayson Wright DC ’26, ’27 MPH pursue his dreams of studying epidemiology.
A Summer That Made Yale Feel Like Home
Jay Simms BF ’27 shares how First-Year Scholars at Yale helped him navigate the transition to college and build a community before classes even began.
Bridging Gaps with Music
In the classroom, the concert hall, and on the global stage, Amanda Wu MC ’28 is creating something greater than the sum of its parts.
Volunteers
The For Humanity campaign brings the worldwide Yale community together. Alumni, parents, and friends join to advance a shared purpose: to create a better world through supporting Yale. Volunteers help fundraise for the Yale Alumni Fund, class reunion gifts, and the overall For Humanity campaign.
Campaign volunteers include five co-chairs, honorary chairs, a campaign committee, regional advisory groups, and groups focused on key audiences and key priorities such as support for students, Yale’s collections, and innovation.
Volunteer Spotlight
In fiscal 2025, more than 3,300 volunteers contributed time and talents to advance the For Humanity campaign. They inspired and energized classmates and peers while helping others find the causes at Yale they find most meaningful.
Richard Roberts ’86, ’89 JD
Chair, Yale Alumni Fund Board of Directors
“Alumni from all parts of Yale, now residing in nearly every corner of the world, have an important impact at the university today. Gifts to the Yale Alumni Fund provide immediate support for Yale’s most pressing needs, from student financial aid to cutting-edge research.”
John McKissack ’20
Co-chair, Class of 2020 5th Reunion Gift Committee
“During college, I saw the many ways Yale supports students so that they can focus on exploring their passions and daring to dream big. It’s a unique privilege to now be able to play a part in ensuring that the students who come after my class can also make the most of their own Yale experience.”
Claudia Taylor Overstrom ’89, P ’25, P ’26 and Gunnar S Overstrom, III P ’25, P ’26
Chairs, Parents Leadership Council
“As Chairs of the Parents Leadership Council, we are honored and delighted to lead this dynamic group of Yale parents from around the world. Our members are philanthropic leaders of our Yale community who provide essential insights into the undergraduate experience. We are extremely grateful for their invaluable support.”
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.
