Our Message

On Turning Points and Trust

This past fiscal year brought much in the way of positive news to UCLA. For one thing, the past year represents an unambiguous turning point in our recovery from the financial crisis that began in 2007–08. As with the nation as a whole, we have seen progress, and we now can welcome the return of financial stability. Research funding, so critical to UCLA’s mission, reached $1 billion this year after having dipped to a low point of $900 million. And The Centennial Campaign for UCLA is on track to end the calendar year at the $2.1-billion mark, bringing us halfway to the $4.2-billion goal.

UCLA continues to rank among the very best colleges and universities according to several rankings. In addition, we are consistently among the top five universities in research funding, with research results and reputation that surpass those of Yale and Columbia.

Two other big reasons to be confident: private philanthropy like yours and the UCLA Investment Company (IC). Since 2011, the IC has had oversight of the endowment and assets of the Foundation, offering independent, professional management of the funds. The nation’s top 30 endowments, private and public, have just such a structure, and it is the ideal organization to advance UCLA’s mission, extend its reach, and secure its future — in other words, to strengthen the university’s foundation and its Foundation.

We have work to do. As you’ll see in this annual report, student support — a priority for the Foundation — still lags. We hope the IC’s expert management of private contributions will inspire more giving to UCLA, whether to scholarships, to another area of interest, or to the unrestricted pool.

Optimism abounds at UCLA, tempered by just the right amount of financial acumen. That combination, along with your support, will take us well funded into the future. Thank you for your gifts. We will use them wisely.