UC’s Proudly Cincinnati Campaign Tops 100,000 Donors

Today, the University of Cincinnati announced it surpassed President Santa J. Ono’s ambitious challenge to reach 100,000 unique donors by the end of UC’s Proudly Cincinnati billion-dollar campaign. The campaign will officially end Sunday, June 30, with more than $1.05 billion raised and more than 100,000 unique donors.

“With such strong support from the UC community, we have made history yet again. I want to express my sincere thanks to the generous donors who helped the Proudly Cincinnati campaign finish strong,” President Ono said. “I couldn’t be more Proudly Cincinnati than I am today.”

By meeting President Ono’s challenge, the Proudly Cincinnati campaign surpassed two of the most ambitious goals in UC’s history: raising more than $1 billion and securing more than 100,000 donors in a single campaign. Only one percent of the nation’s colleges and universities have ever raised a billion dollars in a single campaign.

President Ono issued the “100K Strong Challenge” in February, when the billion-dollar milestone was announced. The campaign had roughly 92,000 donors at the time.

“Private support has transformed UC into a world-class institution,” said Rod Grabowski, newly installed president of the UC Foundation. “We are fortunate to have such a committed and generous network of donors, alumni, students, faculty, staff and community partners.”

According to both Ono and Grabowski, the impact of this private support will be felt on UC’s campus for generations to come. Funding for scholarships for the best and brightest UC students, improvements to the UC campus and facilities, and support for renowned faculty and endowed chairs remain priorities for the university. To that end, the UC Foundation will continue to fundraise for UC to the tune of $125 million per year.

“It’s a very exciting time to be a part of the Bearcat family,” Ono continued. “The conclusion of Proudly Cincinnati is really just the beginning for UC, the #HottestCollegeInAmerica.”

For more information about UC surpassing the 100,000 donor and $1 billion goals, including photos and video of the announcement, visit proudlycincinnati.org or track the conversation on Twitter: @ProudlyCincy #UC100KStrong.