The University of Virginia joined with friends and family Saturday night to celebrate the success of a fundraising campaign that reached unprecedented heights and reflected generosity remarkable even across UVA’s 200-year history.
More than 258,000 unique donors propelled the “Honor the Future” campaign well past its original goal of $5 billion – hitting that mark 18 months early – while forging partnerships between UVA and its supporters that will enable opportunity and excellence for decades to come.
“The Honor the Future campaign far exceeded even our highest aspirations,” Paul G. Mahoney, interim UVA president, said at a celebration held Saturday at John Paul Jones Arena. “That success is a direct result of the incredible generosity of hundreds of thousands of donors – those gathered with us here tonight and those joining us in spirit all over the world.”
UVA interim President Paul Mahoney speaks at the Saturday event, saying the fundraising campaign “far exceeded even our highest aspirations.” (Photo by Eric Kelley)
The campaign “helped us to define our dreams for excellence and our hopes for the next generation of leaders in our democracy,” Mahoney said.
By focusing on strengthening core priorities and enhancing UVA’s extraordinary student experience – including investments in faculty, student access and affordability – the campaign achieved its greatest successes by attending to the most important participants in the life of a university: its people.
Paul Manning, whose $100 million lead gift in 2023 created the Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology, encapsulated a core spirit of the campaign and its partnerships that provide immediate benefit while seeding future promise. He and his wife have supported the University for 18 years, producing results that he termed “extraordinary.”
The couple’s initial gift was followed by significant investments of $100 million from the commonwealth, $150 million from UVA and more than $50 million from additional donors.
“With the Manning Institute, we believe our greatest impact is still ahead, helping to create new treatments, new cures and new hope for generations to come,” he said. “The future of medicine is being built right here, at the University of Virginia.”
Paul Manning, with his wife, Diane, tells the gathering, “The future of medicine is being built right here, at the University of Virginia.” The couple’s $100 million gift created the Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology. (Photo by Eric Kelley)
The institute, under construction in Fontaine Research Park, will be a state-of-the-art biomedical research, development and manufacturing facility with a mission to generate new treatments and cures for the most challenging medical conditions. Additionally, it will cultivate an ecosystem of biotechnology innovation and economic growth in Virginia for the benefit of patients worldwide.
“I couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead – the discoveries we will make, the lives we will save and the hope we will bring,” Manning said. He concluded by thanking “the doctors, nurses and researchers – past, present, and future – whose brilliance and commitment make all this possible.”
Peter M. Grant II, chair of the Honor the Future campaign, expressed thanks to the entire University community for its sustained effort and unwavering confidence.
“While this is indeed a celebration of the Honor the Future campaign, as importantly, it’s intended as an expression of gratitude for your engagement at the University, for your energy around the stated objectives of the campaign and your generosity in helping to achieve campaign milestones,” Grant, who earned his UVA bachelor’s degree in government in 1978 and an MBA from the Darden School of Business in 1986, said.
The University publicly launched Honor the Future in October 2019. The campaign advanced priorities for every school and unit, supported new and existing programs, increased resources for students and faculty, and funded capital projects.
