Annual Fund Questions and Answers

Generous contributions to the BYU Annual Fund are making it possible for an unprecedented number of students to advance scholastically and spiritually. But what exactly is the Annual Fund? And how can one modest gift make a difference? We asked the director of Annual Giving to answer these and other frequently asked questions.

Q. What is the BYU Annual Fund?
A. It's a special fund created to encourage regular giving to the university in support of critical, life-changing priorities. The Annual Fund provides the trustees, university president, and deans with the flexibility to use the dollars where the need is greatest.

Q. I pay tithing. Isn't that enough?
A. Most of our alumni are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and they may feel they already support BYU with their tithing dollars. Certainly that is true. However, many important scholarships and programs that help students at BYU are funded by gifts made directly to your alma mater. These donations-above and beyond tithing-are allowing the university to bless thousands of additional students and touch countless lives around the world. In short, donations are making it possible for BYU to reach its potential faster.

Q. How are donations to the Annual Fund used?
A. Donations to the BYU Annual Fund are used as designated by the donor and for priorities approved by the BYU Board of Trustees, which is chaired by President Gordon B. Hinckley. Of the $5.6 million donated to the BYU Annual Fund last year, $2.4 million (43 percent) was directed to university-wide priorities such as Trustees/President’s Priorities, Scholarships, and Mentoring. $3.1 million (55 percent) was given to the donor’s college of choice and applied to the highest priorities in that college by the respective dean. The remaining donations (2 percent) were given to the Harold B. Lee Library, David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies, Division of Continuing Education, and other important projects.

Q. Can a small gift make a difference?
A. Yes. Your Annual Fund gift is combined with tens of thousands of others, and together these gifts help students where they need it most. When you give to the BYU Annual Fund, you help provide grants for mentored-learning and research projects that put students ahead in their postgraduate studies and future careers and scholarships to aid in tuition costs.

Q. Does the Annual Fund accept matching gifts from companies?
A. Yes. We encourage alumni who work for matching gift companies to contact their Human Resource Department for a form to fill out. They can double and triple, sometimes quadruple, their BYU gift through their company's matching gift program.

Q. Does any portion of my gift go for administrative overhead?
A. Not a penny.

Q. How often does the Annual Fund contact alumni?
A. Annually. Each year in the spring, the BYU Annual Fund representatives send a letter to alumni and follow up with a phone call. If you choose to give, we will not contact you again until the following year. In the fall, we send another letter, again followed by a phone call, to alumni who have yet to respond.

Q. How many alumni give to BYU?
A. Last year 60,500 alumni gave to BYU—an incredible demonstration of generosity. THANK YOU!

Q. How do I make a gift?
A. Click here to donate online to the BYU Annual Fund. Or call us at 1-800-525-8074.