Fundraising Milestone Reached at Whitman School, Propelling Change and Transformation
The Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University experienced a historic fundraising year in 2024-25, with more than $10.9 million in cash donations raised, surpassing the previous high of $7.9 million. The Whitman Leadership Circle (WLC), a philanthropic leadership society created for alumni, families, and friends to support and engage with the Whitman School, played a significant role in this achievement.
Launched in the fall of 2024, the WLC generated over $6.3 million in new support for the school in its inaugural year. The programme is designed for donors to make multi-year leadership gift commitments to directly support the Whitman School. Commitments begin at $25,000 ($5,000 per year over five years) and can be designated to any area at Whitman that a donor chooses.
Michael Paulus, assistant dean of advancement and external engagement, expressed excitement about the momentum generated by the WLC in its first year. The WLC website provides information about opportunities to make an impact on the Whitman School, and completing the WLC interest form allows individuals to learn how to become an essential part of the school's legacy.
The Whitman Leadership Circle is not just about financial support, but also about fostering a community of engagement. WLC donors receive a personalized stewardship experience that includes special recognition, exclusive communication, invitations to events, unique gifts, and opportunities to interact with students and faculty.
The Whitman School Dean's Fund, which supports student professional development opportunities, student financial support, experiential learning, program and curricular innovation, career readiness programming, and more, received nearly $3.2 million in cash giving and pledges during the 2024-25 fundraising year. This tripled the amount of funding from previous years, making it the most successful cash fundraising year ever for the Whitman School.
Interim Dean Alex McKelvie expressed gratitude to the community of alumni, parents, friends, and donors for making the Whitman School a philanthropic priority. He emphasized the importance of philanthropic support from the alumni and donors in achieving the school's goals and vision, which includes becoming a top 25-ranked business school within five years.
Of the 1,649 donors supporting Whitman this year, 1,266 of them made gifts less than $2,500, demonstrating the power of every gift, regardless of size, to impact success. This record-breaking fundraising success for the Whitman School will undoubtedly contribute to its ongoing transformation and growth.
This story was written by Tatiana Motevalli-Oliner. For detailed, specific impacts of philanthropy on Whitman School’s recent transformation efforts, I recommend consulting official Syracuse University communications, Whitman’s strategic plan documents, or announcements related to fundraising campaigns for the school, as none of the provided search results address this topic directly.
- The Whitman Leadership Circle (WLC) donors not only provide financial support to the Whitman School, but also engage in a community that offers special recognition, exclusive communications, event invitations, unique gifts, and opportunities to interact with students and faculty.
- In the 2024-25 fundraising year, the Whitman School Dean's Fund, which supports various aspects of education-and-self-development, received over $3.2 million in cash giving and pledges, largely due to the generosity of business-minded donors.
