Stories of Consequence
Following the successful public launch of its Leading Lives of Consequence campaign, Washington and Lee University enjoyed a historic year of unprecedented support. The W&L Fund, the university’s annual giving program, reached new heights, surpassing its $10.65 million goal with $10,891,247 — the largest amount in W&L’s history and marks a 4.4% increase over last year. Collectively, 10,224 donors contributed $223,668,478 across all areas. The record-shattering total includes the historic $132 million gift from Bill Miller ’72 to support need-blind admissions for undergraduate students, as well as an anonymous $30 million gift to build Founders Hall — an innovative facility that will house the offices of Admissions, Financial Aid and the Johnson Program in Leadership and Integrity.
“This year has been nothing short of extraordinary — we’ve set a new record for the W&L Fund, expanded The President’s Society membership, significantly increased reunion giving and achieved our largest annual fundraising total in the school’s history,” said Susan Wood, vice president for university advancement. “The W&L community continues to inspire, with our network of alumni, parents and friends giving generously. These achievements signal momentum toward our Leading Lives of Consequence campaign goal and underscore the lasting impact we can make in the lives of W&L students.”
“The W&L community continues to inspire, with our network of alumni, parents and friends giving generously. These achievements signal momentum toward our Leading Lives of Consequence campaign goal and underscore the lasting impact we can make in the lives of W&L students.” - Susan Wood, vice president for university advancement
Currently, more than $544.7 million has been raised toward the ambitious $650 million campaign goal, supporting vital initiatives to attract and retain high-achieving students with remarkable potential and to enhance the full W&L experience for everyone. With two years remaining in the Leading Lives of Consequence campaign, it has already surpassed the total raised during W&L’s previous campaign, Honor Our Past, Build Our Future.
Undergraduate alumni set the bar high for future W&L Fund results, contributing $7,754,290 with a 33% participation rate in fiscal year 2024-2025. In the broader landscape of higher education fundraising, W&L demonstrates strong donor participation against national and peer trends. An impressive 1,888 donors gave at leadership levels as members of The President’s Society. The 1749 Circle, W&L’s consecutive giving society, celebrates donors who give loyally for three or more years in a row; this year it counted more than 8,500 members. Alumni were inspired by challenge gifts, including a young alumni matching challenge from an anonymous donor and one raised by the Cadaver Society which resulted in $411,975.
W&L Fund chair Caroline Boone Mitchell ’89, P’23, ’25, ’28 led annual giving volunteer efforts during the stand-out year and was moved by the level of support her classmates, parents and other university friends demonstrated. “The results we have achieved with the W&L Fund this year are truly staggering,” she said. “I am so grateful to be a part of such a generous community.”
“The results we have achieved with the W&L Fund this year are truly staggering. I am so grateful to be a part of such a generous community.” — Caroline Boone Mitchell ’89, W&L Fund chair
The W&L Law Fund — annual giving that supports the Washington and Lee University School of Law — raised $1,453,309, achieving its $1.45 million goal. Parents also played a crucial role in the W&L Fund’s success for 2024-2025, giving $1.61 million of the $10.89 million total. Parents Leadership Council (PLC) chairs Ann Faircloth and Fred Beaujeu-Dufour P’26 engaged W&L parents and encouraged them to support the W&L Fund. The fiscal year ended with 172 families as members of the PLC, supporting the university at leadership levels above and beyond tuition costs. “We are incredibly grateful to all the parents and families who have supported the W&L Fund this year,” Faircloth said. “Their generosity has made a real impact, and we are thrilled to see this growing momentum in support of our students through philanthropy.”
Reunion classes also fueled the banner year, with reunion giving reaching an all-time high of over $1.93 million raised in gifts and pledges, surpassing the single-year goal and bringing in more than $8 million in multi-year commitments through the W&L Fund — a 38% increase over the previous record. Reunion classes ending in 0s and 5s have invested more than $50 million in the Leading Lives of Consequence campaign, with more than $7.6 million coming from members of the Class of 2000, who broke single, multi-year and class project records for 25th reunion giving.
Numerous other reunion giving records were smashed and new benchmarks defined. For the first time in the program’s history, four classes raised $1 million or more during the fiscal year. The Class of 1990 surpassed the 35th reunion record and the Class of 2020 became the second to raise more than $100,000 during its 5th reunion. Nearly a quarter of reunion-year donors gave at The President’s Society leadership level.
“The W&L competitive spirit was on full display this year,” said Jessica Cohen, director of reunion campaigns. “We were fortunate to have such a committed and passionate group of reunion chairs and committee members who were eager to break records, win trophies and support the university in a meaningful way — all for the betterment of our current and future students.”
The Senior Gift Committee encourages members of the graduating class to participate in the W&L Fund, making gifts to honor their educational experiences. The century-old tradition celebrates a rich history of philanthropy at Washington and Lee and invites seniors to actively support the next generation of students as they move on as alumni. The Class of 2025 included 253 donors who raised $8,986 — the highest Senior Gift total in more than five years — with 60 members of the class joining The President’s Society at an introductory young alumni level. Sophie McCauley ’25 and Uno Christopher ’25 served as Senior Gift co-chairs for their class.
“It’s a powerful thing to be able to give back to your community — one that’s provided you with so much,” McCauley said. “Being able to help students see that vision for future years is important.”
“It’s a powerful thing to be able to give back to your community — one that’s provided you with so much. Being able to help students see that vision for future years is important.” — Sophie McCauley ’25, Senior Gift co-chair
The W&L Fund provides essential resources to every area of the university and is a top fundraising priority during the campaign. “I am so proud of the work our incredible volunteers and team performed to achieve a record-breaking finish for the W&L Fund this year,” said Katherine Dau ’19, director of annual giving. “The W&L Fund continues to be one of the university’s highest fundraising priorities because it provides vital support to students each year. I am grateful that our community champions unrestricted giving.”
Philanthropy empowers students at W&L to enjoy their educational experience without boundaries and to view their own potential without limits. The exceptional results from 2024-2025 convey a deeply shared conviction that a W&L education transforms lives. The university is grateful for the generous and loyal support many alumni, parents, friends, faculty and staff provide each year.