Why Private Giving Matters at UA

As Alabama's first university, chartered by the government while the state was still a territory, The University of Alabama has a long history of serving the people of Alabama. When the University was chartered, Governor Israel Pickens commissioned our seal by asking the designer to create a symbol to communicate "the light of science beaming on this hemisphere." During the nearly 170 years since the first classes were taught on this campus, The University of Alabama has continued to shine a beneficial light on all aspects of life in the state.

The University of Alabama is still a state-assisted institution, but the percentage of its annual budget provided by the taxes of Alabama's citizens decreases every year. At the turn of the millennium, that portion stands just at one-third of each year's operating revenue. Simply put, in order to carry out its chartered mission of teaching, research, and service, the state's flagship university must realize two-thirds of its budget from other sources. Tuition covers only 20 percent of the overall budget. We strive to keep that figure as low as possible in our commitment to keep tuition affordable and a University of Alabama education a tremendous value for the student's investment. The University's auxiliary enterprises cover another 19 percent of the needed annual revenue, while gifts and research contracts and grants to faculty comprise another 20 percent of each year's operating funds. While we strive to increase those sources of funding, private giving grows in importance as the most dependable source of the funding needed to keep The University of Alabama among the best public universities in the country

The University looks to its alumni and friends to provide support to this institution, so its light can continue to beam on all the citizens of this state and beyond, bringing warmth and clarity to the lives of all whom it serves. This booklet briefly describes the kinds of gifts and the ways of giving through which you can choose to continue the University's positive influence here and in the future.

Private gifts allow The University of Alabama to provide a margin of excellence for its students that can not be accomplished with state and research funding alone.