Fund for Syracuse

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What is The Fund for Syracuse?

Annual dollars provided through The Fund for Syracuse are flexible and immediately available, enabling the chancellor, deans, and other division heads to funnel those dollars wherever they are most urgently needed.

Tuition and fees account for only a portion of Syracuse University’s annual budget. Annual contributions to The Fund for Syracuse are crucial, creating an essential bridge between tuition revenues and the actual cost of a Syracuse University education.

The Fund for Syracuse is actually a collection of many current-use funds. The Fund for Syracuse includes:

  • The Annual Fund
  • General Scholarship Fund
  • Director/Dean’s Funds for each school, college, and unit
  • A variety of specialty funds for current use purposes

Gifts to the “Fund for Syracuse” are counted within our fiscal calendar of July 1 – June 30.

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Giving to The Fund for Syracuse

Your annual gift to The Fund for Syracuse can be used to support Syracuse University’s highest priorities, including day-to-day operating costs, classroom and laboratory instruction, and student programs. It can go to our general scholarship fund to assist students who demonstrate financial need. Or it can be designated to support a part of Syracuse University that has special meaning to you, whether it’s a particular school or college, the Syracuse University Libraries, Hendricks Chapel, or Syracuse University Athletics.

No matter how you choose to give, your annual gift will be put to good use where and when it is needed most.

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The Fund for Syracuse affords individuals a great deal of flexibility, as donors may choose from a wide range of annual giving designations, which align with their personal interests and connections with the University. This includes options for making gifts to each college, school, and unit on campus. For those individuals that want the University to decide how best to put their gifts to use, unrestricted contributions may be made to Annual Fund.

All of these gifts have something in common:

  • They are spent each year (which is different than an endowment gift).
  • They represent a flexible and essential source of funds and an investment in the leaders of the university, schools, colleges, and units to make strategic investments.
  • They are essential to the operation of the University. The majority of the budget provided to the University's thirteen colleges and schools are in the form of fixed costs. Annual giving contributions provide an invaluable source of flexible funding that reflects your priorities as a donor, as well as the greatest needs and highest priorities of the University.

Year after year, gifts to the Fund for Syracuse make possible scholarships, and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for students. Annual gifts help Syracuse University provide state-of-the-art laboratories and equipment, and support learning experiences, including study abroad, immersion trips, and student competitions.

Whatever the size of your gift, your support strengthens Syracuse. It is also a vote of confidence. Universities that have a broad base of alumni support do better in college rankings.

Success within The Fund for Syracuse is defined by the following:

  • Total dollars raised each year.
  • Total donors who make gifts to The Fund for Syracuse.
  • Percent of undergraduate alumni who give to Syracuse University, this is an important element of the University’s US News & World Report ranking.