Penn Fund raises more than $55 million in 2024 fiscal year, setting record despite donor backlash

The Penn Fund ended the 2024 fiscal year with a record-breaking donation total, despite initial fundraising lags earlier this year. 

The Penn Fund, the University's annual giving campaign, raised more than $55 million during fiscal year 2024, exceeding fundraising goals by close to $10 million, according to their Annual Impact Report. Donations through the fund go exclusively to undergraduate students through student programs, financial aid, and organization support. 

This marks the sixth year in a row that the fund has broken fundraising records for the University. Last year, the Penn Fund raised close to $54 million from more than 20,000 unique donors. Penn did not release the number of individual donors this year. 

A University spokesperson declined to comment.

Penn Fund's annual report comes in the aftermath of a year full of donor pushback. Last fall, dozens of influential donors, including Apollo Global Management CEO and 1984 Wharton graduate Marc Rowan, pulled their funding, alleging the administration had failed to adequately respond to antisemitism. 

In April, The Daily Pennsylvanian found that donations were down by 21 percent compared to fiscal year 2023. The DP report further found the Penn Fund had received less money from fewer donors in 2024 than in any year since at least 2020. 

According to Larissa Reece, a consultant at the nonprofit fundraising firm Ashley Rountree and Associates, 2024 was a successful fundraising year for universities nationwide. 

"While last year saw a drop in funding, this has been the second largest year for gifts to higher ed," Reece said. "It's been a surprise, especially during a period when confidence in higher education has reached its lowest level," she said. 

In a statement included in the report, Class of 1999 25th Reunion Giving Co-Chairs Yusef Kassim, Lizzy Gottlieb Markus, Karen Chance Mercurius, and Aliya Karmally Sahai acknowledged the difficulties in fundraising last year. 

"Throughout last year's many challenges and also related opportunities, our class recognized the need to educate current (and future) undergraduates not only as students, but as whole-hearted human beings," they wrote. 

Reece is optimistic that Penn will continue to receive substantial donations in the future.

"There's always a risk, especially during times of protests or scandals, that you might see donors pull back. However, Penn's long history of successful fundraising, with a significant group of loyal alumni and donors, suggests many will stay committed," she said. 

In an interview with the DP, Interim President Larry Jameson said he has held dozens of individual meetings — as well as small and large events — with the goal of hearing donors' varying perspectives and regaining their confidence.  

"[Donors] want to come back to the University of Pennsylvania by and large, they love this institution, or they probably wouldn't be speaking out and expressing their views," Jameson said. "... I think that the momentum is shifting in a very good direction, but it takes time." 

The slow fundraising earlier this year followed donor retaliation to the University's handling of the Palestine Writes Literature Festival and response to the Israel-Hamas War and subsequent activism on campus.