At the College of Engineering, we commit to:

• Answering our world’s demand for talented engineers and computer scientists.
• Meeting the needs of the citizens of Kentucky and the nation by leveraging strategic research strengths.
• Forging industry partnerships that generate opportunities for engineering students and faculty members and that strengthen our state and national economies.

Annual gifts are a critical source of revenue for the college each year. In 2012, nearly 2,300 donors contributed $2.7 million to support initiatives across the college. Annual gifts come in all sizes and the results demonstrate there is power in numbers.

Annual gifts are so valuable because they either supplement existing operating budgets or they provide revenue that can be directed toward priorities that are not supported by other sources of funding. These include: scholarships, support for student programs, faculty support, facility enhancement and unrestricted support for departments. Annual gifts provide the flexibility necessary for responding to emerging needs and opportunities that arise during the year. To coin an old saying, annual gifts can be the margin of excellence.

In addition, a broad base of annual support influences the investment of corporations and foundations as they consider supporting the college. Likewise, alumni support is often weighted in the ranks that compare UK’s College of Engineering with its peers.

We invite you to invest in high-quality engineering education by becoming an annual donor to the College of Engineering. You can make your gift online or contact Jonathan Furnish at (859) 257-7377.

Matching Gifts
Many companies offer a wonderful benefit to their employees by matching their contributions to organizations. Of all the colleges on campus, engineering stands to benefit the most because many of our alumni work for companies who offer this benefit.

Taking advantage of such a benefit will double and sometime triple a donor’s gift. To find out if your employer offers a matching gift program, contact your human resources office or search the database of companies.

Student Opportunity Fund
The UK College of Engineering prides itself on offering students involved in engineering-related extracurricular activities opportunities to travel nationally and internationally for conferences, competitions and research projects. The Student Opportunity Fund enables the College to supply students with such funds. As a result, our students often graduate with educational experiences beyond the classroom that prepare them for industry challenges in the United States and abroad.

Contact Tina Metcalf at 859-257-8827 or tina.metcalf@uky.edu for more information.

Endowments are of great importance because they provide a dependable source of revenue each year. While gifts made on an annual basis are important, they are more unreliable than an endowment because new funds must be secured each year. Endowments provide an annual base of income that can transform and sustain programs.

Endowments can be established to support undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, professorships, chairs, programs, and facilities. When an endowment is established, the donor’s contribution is invested and never spent, the endowment’s earnings benefit the college in perpetuity.

Endowments are a wonderful way to establish a legacy in the name of the donor or to honor an individual. The funding level for endowments in the College of Engineering begins at $50,000 and varies depending on the purpose of the endowment.

To learn more about establishing an endowment with an outright gift or through an estate gift, please contact Jana Kennelly, Senior Director of Philanthropy at jana.kennelly@uky.edu or 859-257-9191.