Rutgers Snags Big Dollars

NJBIZ, Sep 1, 2008 by Gaudio, Thomas

Rutgers University has raised the private-donation roof. The state-funded research school said last week it brought in a record $121 million in private donations for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2008, an increase of 8.5 percent from $111.5 million raised during the prior-year period.

Gifts came from nonprofit foundations, companies and individuals. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a Princeton-based philanthropy, gave the largest gift at $10.5 million, which is to be used mostly for research and education projects in the area of health.

Rutgers credited high-profile alumni such as Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Diaz, and new initiatives including the Rutgers Future Scholars Program, with getting donors to dig deep in spite of the faltering economy.

At $36 million, the biggest chunk of donations is set to fund support for academic programs at the school such as panel discussions held on topics of interest within a field of study. The rest of the money is designated to fund things like student scholarships, salaries for chair positions and building upgrades. -Thomas Gaudio