Annual Fund posts record year, exceeds goal by $700,000

Three challenge grants helped fund reach $19.7 million

The Brown Annual Fund grew by 15 percent over the previous year, reaching $19.7 million, exceeding the goal of $19 million.

Fueling the success were three challenge grants:

- Chancellor Stephen Robert '62 P'91 offered $500,000 if 25,000 alumni and alumnae, parents, students, faculty, staff and friends were to join him in donating to the Annual Fund; 25,391 did, a 12-percent increase over last year.

- The Joukowsky family -- Chancellor emeritus Artemis A. W. Joukowsky '55 P'87, Professor Martha Sharp Joukowsky '58 P'87, and Michael Joukowsky '87 -- challenged Brown's most recent graduates (classes of 1993-2003) to participate, matching their gifts dollar for dollar up to a half-million dollars. Participation in these classes grew dramatically over last year, led by the Class of 2001, which reported an 86 percent increase in number of donors.

- An anonymous alumnus offered a third $500,000 challenge, to be earned if 500 Brown Annual Fund leaders stepped forward with Annual Fund gifts of $10,000 or more. A record-setting 507 Brown Annual Fund leaders participated.

Leading the growth were parents of Brown's students and alumni. They increased their gifts by 28 percent to $3.3 million. Brown's parents annual fund is now the largest in the Ivy League and among other University peers, besting Duke, last year's top program.

Jerome C. Vascellaro '74, Brown Annual Fund national chair, noted that the success is due to the contributions of many in the Brown community. "I would like to gratefully acknowledge Steve Robert, the Joukowsky family, and the anonymous alumnus for their inspirational challenges, as well as all of the Brown Annual Fund volunteers who played a critical role in making this happen. I also want to salute the entire Development staff for the extraordinary job they did this year."

President Simmons noted, "My warmest congratulations go to Jerome Vascellaro for his exceptional leadership in guiding the Brown Annual Fund to these remarkable results."

Richard Spies, executive vice president for planning and senior advisor to President Simmons, reflected on the significance of these accomplishments for Brown. "It's so incredible that people are expressing in concrete ways their excitement about and confidence in Brown and the Initiatives for Academic Enrichment. These resources will provide direct, tangible support for these critical priorities, including need-blind admission, expansion of the faculty, scholarship support, and enhancements to library and technology resources."