Villanova hits $600m capital campaign goal; continues to grow

Back in October of 2013, Villanova University launched a five-year $600m capital campaign. Today, in a letter to the Villanova community, University President Fr. Donohue announced that the target goal has been hit.

Dear Villanova Community,

Just over three years ago, I announced the launch of Villanova’s $600 million comprehensive capital campaign—For the Greater Great®: The Villanova Campaign to Ignite Change. The campaign, the most ambitious in Villanova’s 175-year history, was intended to fortify our ambitious plans for Villanova’s future.

Now, nearly 17 months ahead of schedule, I am incredibly pleased to announce that the campaign has officially crossed the $600 million milestone and now stands at more than

$620 million. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who made this possible. It is testament to your extreme generosity, loyalty and passion. You are a special and powerful group of Villanovans, and we couldn’t have gotten to this point without all of you.

While there have been some incredible accomplishments, there still remain a number of exciting initiatives that we want to accomplish with this campaign. We can do more.

Great universities have exceptional academics, world-class facilities, winning athletic programs and strong communities that rise to any challenge. Great universities also consistently meet their campaign goals and soar past them. Villanova is no different. We still have ambitious dreams that must be realized before this campaign closes in May 2018.

Endowment, facilities and annual participation are critical to Villanova’s long-term success and will continue to be areas of focus throughout the remainder of the campaign.

Endowment: Although we have exceeded our original endowment goal, we are still significantly outmatched by our closest peers. We must continue to grow our endowment so that we can provide critical resources to cultivate academic innovation, ensure that Villanova remains accessible to the brightest students, and we can compete for talent with other top-tier national universities.

Facilities: We must also continue to enhance and upgrade our campus facilities—with projects such as the Performing Arts Center and the Finneran Pavilion—to provide the premier living-learning environment that our students desire and deserve, and to be on par with our national peers.

Annual Participation: This continues to be a key area, particularly as it creates a sustainable culture of giving at the University and impacts our national ranking. While our annual undergraduate participation rate has increased significantly, reaching our campaign goal of 30 percent participation will make us a leader among nationally ranked institutions.

Villanovans don’t just achieve—we exceed expectations. We can do more—we will do more. With 17 months remaining in this campaign, I know that we will once again show the world that, together, there is nothing we cannot do. Every single gift to this campaign—large or small—matters and will ensure that Villanovans for generations to come have the opportunity to experience the academic excellence and Augustinian tradition at the heart of our community.

Thank you again for all that you have done to get Villanova to this unprecedented place in our history. Your generosity demonstrates how much you value the Villanova experience and shows those outside our community the incredible value of an investment in this University. I look forward to this journey with all of you as we continue to work together toward the greater great.

Sincerely,

Fr. Peter Donohue, OSA

President

Great job Villanovans! Let’s see how far past $600m we can take this thing.