Priorities

On the threshold of its second century, UCLA remains more committed than ever to transforming talent and optimism into a more just and enlightened world. A premier university in the vibrant and diverse city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a catalyst for innovation and opportunity, driving progress locally and globally.

“Now is the time to redefine our great public research institution. By maintaining our excellence through greater self-reliance, UCLA can be more than a place. It becomes a beacon … where the only thing that is unthinkable is the idea of the impossible. Together, when the world calls, we can say … let there be.”
— Gene Block, UCLA Chancellor

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITIES to give

As UCLA strives for a better world, the breadth of its work provides endless opportunities for donors to align their diverse passions with the university’s mission. At this juncture in the Centennial Campaign, UCLA is focusing on the following priorities:

Higher education is powerful. It’s the most important factor in upward mobility and economic growth. But the students who could benefit most — those from disadvantaged and moderate backgrounds — face the greatest financial challenges to attending UCLA.

Dedicated to enabling the best students from all walks of life to experience higher education, UCLA leads elite colleges in enrolling low- and middle-income students and provides financial aid to 65% of its undergraduates. Yet the typical 2016–2017 financial aid package for a freshman from California with an adjusted gross income of $138,000 left a significant gap in funding.

Many students bridge that gap with work-study and with loans that lead to significant debt and can negatively affect their career choices, their economic lives, and the economy in general. By giving to scholarships anywhere on campus, you support students as they create better futures for themselves and others.

Bar showing on-campus cost of attendance totaling $34,047, which includes $1,014 in California Middle Class Scholarship and $33,033 in unmet need

The endowment is UCLA’s root system, helping it stay strong as it grows and steady as it broadens its reach. Here’s how it works: Your endowed gift contributes to the university’s overall endowment. A portion of the endowment’s return on investment is used for purposes designated in your gift agreement, while the remaining portion of the return is reinvested into the principal sum to create market growth. In this way, your gift — through the university’s endowment — serves immediate needs and serves to create financial security for the future.

Nearly 100 years young, UCLA’s endowment lags behind older private and public peers. This puts the university at a disadvantage in competing for the best students and faculty. You can help UCLA close this endowment gap and continue to open doors for excellence by endowing funds for sustaining support.

Bar graph comparing university endowments: Harvard at $34.22 billion; Yale at $25.41 billion; Stanford at $22.40 billion; UT Austin at $10.94 billion; Penn at $10.72 billion; Michigan at $9.74 billion; Columbia at $9.64 billion; Virginia at $5.85 billion; and UCLA at $3.85 billion