The University of Washington raised $542.4 million from private contributions in the 2016 fiscal year, surpassing the record amount by nearly $60 million.
The University of Washington raised a record-breaking $542.4 million in private contributions for the 2016 fiscal year, which ended June 30.
The previous record was $482.4 million, raised in the 2014 fiscal year, the university said in a news release.
More than $500 million of the money will go toward supporting faculty and students, and capital funds, the release said. About 80 percent of donors gave less than $500. A number of the largest contributions came from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Several large donors gave funds to support specific initiatives.
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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and his wife, Connie Ballmer, for example, are offering financial support to graduates of the School of Social Work, so they can begin their careers without a lot of debt.
The Coca-Cola Foundation’s contribution will support the university’s Bothell campus. The funds will provide scholarships and mentoring to 25 first-generation college students there.
Other gifts will support research into the effectiveness of the minimum wage increase in Seattle, and how to regenerate damaged heart tissue.