In 2026, CU sees second-largest fundraising year

Donors gave $558 million to CU in fiscal year 2026, investing in students, faculty, researchers, healthcare and a multitude of programs and places across the university’s four campuses.

Spurred by more than 58,000 gifts from more than 31,000 donors, the year represented the second-highest total in university history and only the third time that donor generosity exceeded a half-billion dollars. 

“Our donors showed once again that they believe CU provides incredible value to Colorado and its communities,” said Todd Saliman, University of Colorado President. “Our donors help strengthen our state, nation and world and make an impact every day by supporting what matters to them. We’re thankful for their generosity.”

Gifts included more than $70 million to support scholarships and fellowships, $183 million to advance research programs, $23 million to recruit and retain faculty and researchers and $129 million for various academic priorities. Donor philanthropy is directed where donors intend their gifts to go, and CU cannot redirect dollars elsewhere.

Donors contributed generously to each of CU’s four campuses, including these notable gifts:

• CU Boulder received $282.1 million in philanthropic support during the last fiscal year to fund student scholarships, accelerate research, advance climate action, elevate student-athletes and strengthen community partnerships. Alumna Heidi Wagner invested $5 million to launch the Wagner Family Civic Impact Initiative, a new program designed to bridge the campus and surrounding communities through student-led engagement and problem-solving. Hosted within CU Boulder’s Center for Leadership, the initiative immerses students in real-world projects alongside local partners. Students work directly on challenges and opportunities facing the Boulder community, including sustainability, mental health and workforce development. The initiative reflects the idea that challenges facing Boulder extend beyond campus boundaries and can benefit from collaborative solutions.
• A $500,000 gift to CU Denver from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority supported a new Affordable Housing Certificate, helping build the knowledge and workforce capacity needed to respond to the region’s housing affordability challenges. The Whiteman Family Foundation committed $2.125 million to the Center for Psychedelic Research, which is helping meet an emerging statewide need by providing education and training that prepares professionals to engage responsibly and effectively in the rapidly growing field of psilocybin services. The campus also helps prepare a significant portion of the region’s workforce, and a $100,000 grant from Lumina Foundation supported CU Denver’s Career-Connected Learning Initiative, which will help faculty intentionally connect learning outcomes to career paths.
• Donors’ gifts to UCCS helped increase the campus’s endowment to more than $100 million, while the campus exceeded its fiscal year fundraising goal of $16 million. Gifts included support for student scholarships, the arts, campus programs and more. One of the year’s transformative gifts included a $1 million anonymous donation in honor of the UCCS Center for the Study of Government and the Individual’s 25th anniversary. The endowed fund will support education initiatives that promote understanding of the American and Colorado Constitutions at UCCS and across the state. These achievements reflected years of relationship-building and generosity from donors who believe deeply in UCCS and its students. Those resources will create opportunities for generations of Mountain Lions.
• At CU Anschutz, a landmark $15 million investment from longtime benefactor Lyda T. Ludeman launched the Pioneering Research and Innovation in Science and Medicine for Women (PRISM) program at the CU Anschutz Ludeman Family Center for Women’s Health Research. The gift is focused on improving women’s health outcomes through clinical and translational research and accelerating how scientific discovery becomes patient care. One of its primary goals is to close gaps in understanding and treating conditions that disproportionately affect women. In its first phase, PRISM will support investigators and improve collaboration across medical disciplines.

While large gifts like these — CU received 109 of at least $1 million — make a substantial impact immediately and long into the future, every gift matters. Nine in 10 gifts were $2,500 or less, showing that donors from all backgrounds choose to invest in ways that are important to them. 

Donors also signaled their vision for the future by supporting endowments and including CU in their wills and bequests. They gave $152 million in planned gifts and $59 million toward endowments, establishing additional future support for CU.

They also established 149 new endowments last fiscal year, bringing the total number of endowments benefiting CU to approximately 3,900, with a collective value of $2.9 billion. A small percentage of each endowment is distributed each year to the CU program it supports, while the remainder of its value is invested to provide support for decades to come.