Campaign Summary

Dear Friends of Johns Hopkins,

As we came to the close of our Rising to the Challenge campaign, the excitement was palpable – not simply because we met or exceeded nearly every goal we set, but because we did so in single-minded service to our mission.

The numbers from this campaign are astounding: 1,600 volunteers; more than 878,000 individual gifts from 279,000 generous donors; $1.69 billion in new endowment funding, including 267 endowed professorships and 159 endowed undergraduate scholarships; $610 million in graduate and undergraduate student financial aid; and more than $2.8 billion in support of medical research and programs. In the end, we raised a total of $6.015 billion.

But the real story of this eight-year long endeavor — the defining moments and stunning leaps forward for our institution — lies behind the numbers; it is in the fueling of interdisciplinary and cross-divisional research work, the investment in our people, the focus on daunting global and societal challenges, and the commitment to our home city of Baltimore.

Nearly 22 percent of the funds raised in this campaign — more than $1.3 billion — are advancing research that spans more than one discipline and supporting faculty as the intellectual capital of the university. Indeed, every major initiative of this campaign holds both endowed professorships and interdisciplinary scholarship among its key elements.

In addition, an unprecedented commitment to the humanities and social sciences, with $300 million raised, has helped to broaden Johns Hopkins’ already formidable reputation in the natural and biological sciences. With more than $100 million for the humanities alone, this campaign is charting a new course for the future of arts and sciences at our university.

Breadth in academic excellence is critical, too, for attracting our extraordinary students, whose upward trajectory now situates us as the third most selective university in the nation. And the commitment of our donors to student aid increased dramatically in this campaign, helping our competitiveness and increasing accessibility for students and families from all backgrounds.

This campaign also stands as a testament to our mission-driven focus on urgent challenges to human health, well-being, and opportunity. Close to home, we’ve been able to invest in programs that strengthen and sustain our city in areas such as education, healthcare, economic development, and the arts. Across our country, this priority is reflected in the work we do to address drug addiction, obesity, gun violence, adolescent health and environmental threats. And in our hospitals, clinics, and laboratories, we have advanced pathbreaking research and patient care for chronic and acute diseases affecting millions at home and around the world.

Of course, these flights of audacious imagination would simply be impossible were it not for you. Your volunteer leadership, your advocacy on our behalf, and your extraordinary generosity inspire and guide us in building a better, safer, more humane world.

On behalf of all of us, thank you for all you do each day to help us rise to every challenge and imagine a brighter future for us all.