LMU raised a record $71.8 million from more than 8,000 donors in FY23, the fiscal year that ended on May 31, 2023. This total is the highest amount raised during a single year in the university’s history, representing a 63 percent increase over the prior year and surpassing the previous record of $61 million set in FY18. The average gift size also grew from $1,519 to $2,216, a 46 percent increase.
“Momentum is building at LMU,” said Senior Vice President Peter Wilch for University Advancement. “I am profoundly grateful for our broad and passionate base of support and for the unwavering commitment to our students, faculty, and the broader LMU community from our many donors. Strong philanthropic support at LMU has long been a tradition on campus and this year’s record-breaking result will propel student inclusivity and access, academic creativity and adaptability, and will extend the impact of LMU well beyond the bluff.”
LMU is currently in the quiet phase of a comprehensive fundraising campaign. Recent successes have accelerated the university’s progress: $300 million has now been raised toward the $750 million goal. Gifts received highlight how essential philanthropy is to the university’s future through three key themes: bolstering student inclusivity and access, fueling creativity and innovation, and expanding global reach and impact.
Bolstering Student Inclusivity and Access
To further support our students, LMU has created 101 new scholarships during the past three years. Thanks to the generosity of the University Hill Foundation and many individual donors, LMU added more than $38 million in funding for undergraduates and nearly $8 million for graduate students. This includes $3.5 million in funding for transfers, helping facilitate degree progress and pathways.
Fueling Creativity and Innovation
The campaign is already boosting our creative and scholarly pursuits through progress on key capital projects.
- The Howard B. Fitzpatrick Pavilion at the LMU School of Film and Television (SFTV), supported by $20 million in gifts, enhances the school’s teaching and infrastructure capacity by adding a leading-edge screening theater, camera teaching stage, stop-motion workspace, and interdisciplinary media arts wing.
- The Drollinger Family Stage, supported by $3 million in gifts, is LMU’s first outdoor performance venue, expanding our ability to host events, including the popular Shakespeare on the Bluff summer program series.
- Renovations are underway to expand the historic Strub Theatre, an essential creative space for theatre arts and dance students.
- LMU is developing plans for the Engineering Innovation Complex in the LMU Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering, envisioned as an epicenter for advancements in STEM learning that will propel new opportunities for creative research, collaboration, and experimentation.
- LMU is ambitiously pursuing support for a large-scale performing arts pavilion that will host world-class speakers, artists, and signature events.
Expanding Global Reach and Impact
- LMU is reimagining how it supports student-athletes with improvements to its facilities, beginning with a new academic center in Gersten Pavilion.
- Through generous and continuing support from the LMU Jesuit Community, the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, LMU Mission and Ministry continues to form a meaningful and enduring foundation for the campus community, with programs from the Center for Ignatian Spirituality, the Academy of Catholic Thought and Imagination, the Marymount Institute for Faith, Culture, and the Arts, and the CSJ Center for Reconciliation and Justice.
- The university has strengthened its planned giving pipeline: new legacy gifts include two bequests from Marilyn Heron ’66 to support scholarships in mathematics, data science, and business analytics; a $3 million bequest from emeritus faculty member Michael O’Sullivan, Ph.D., to support faculty and student research in psychology as well as scholarships for Native American and Indigenous students; and a $6 million bequest from the estate of Maurice D. Schwartz for a variety of campus projects and initiatives, including the Loyola Social Justice Law Clinic and the Genocide Reparations Clinic.
The breadth, depth, and variety of giving to LMU highlight the vibrancy of philanthropic support, positioning us advantageously for future successes.
You can support LMU’s success by making a gift to the cause of your choice.
