Impact to ‘echo for generations to come’

Commencement at Kenan Memorial Stadium on Sunday, May 8, 2022 in Chapel Hill, NC. (Photo by Jen Hughey/UNC-Chapel Hill)

On October 6, 2017, Carolina launched its most ambitious fundraising campaign ever — the Campaign for Carolina. With a goal to raise $4.25 billion by December 31, 2022, the Campaign for Carolina ultimately surpassed $5 billion — including raising more than $1 billion for scholarships and fellowships.

Carolina is one of just six public universities in the country to surpass $5 billion in a completed campaign. This historic moment, this resounding success, was made possible by the more than 215,000 donors who believed in the University’s public spirit, who rose to the challenge to not only meet but surpass that original goal.

“I am immensely grateful for the community of donors and volunteers who have supported us on this journey. Your generosity means Carolina will continue to prepare generations of students and scholars to solve the grand challenges of our time.”

— Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz

Many gifts are already at work supporting Carolina’s key strategic priorities, while some donors have made pledges or established endowments that will provide a steady stream of resources in the decades to come. Contributions totaling more than $1.2 billion were made through deferred gifts, such as bequests, meaning the full impact of the Campaign for Carolina will be measured in the generations to come as well as in the present.

The Campaign for Carolina was inspired by the Blueprint for Next, a vision document developed to guide Carolina’s growth and direction. Its two core tenets — “Of the Public, for the Public” and “Innovation Made Fundamental” — continue to guide the campaign under Chancellor Guskiewicz’s leadership. His administration’s strategic plan — Carolina Next: Innovations for Public Good — operationalizes the direction set by the Blueprint for Next.

Overall Campaign Priorities

  • The New Graduate: Students & the Educational Experience, enabling the best and brightest
    to shine and impact the nation’s future. 
  • 21st Century Professoriate: Faculty and Scholarship, attracting and retaining the best of the best to create new knowledge and solutions.
  • A Culture of Innovation: Innovation and Impact, developing powerful tools to build a better world and a brilliant future.

The Campaign for Carolina