Pride and support
A history-making year for fundraising
$370M
raised in gifts and new pledges in FY2024
$1.13B
raised in total for Experience Powered by Northeastern against a campaign goal of
$1.3 billion
One for the record books
Northeastern’s global influence continued to attract thoughtful and foresighted philanthropy to propel its students, faculty, and programs to new heights. Donors came together to make gifts of all sizes to support scholarships, campuses, research, faculty, and more, elevating every aspect of what the university does.
35,972
total donors
69
countries represented
18,129
first-time donors
651
corporations and foundations made
$220 milion in gifts and pledges
The donor universe
Full-force philanthropy
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Championing public-service law studentsNortheastern’s School of Law reached its $1 million fundraising goal for the “A Million Thanks for Dan Givelber” campaign, honoring its late former dean. The Givelber-Subrin Public Interest Law Co-op Fund supports law students in unpaid and underpaid co-op positions that benefit society. Generous gifts came from School of Law alumni, including James Buechl, ’74, Larry Cetrulo, ’75, Leslie Joseph, ’93, Mary Kay Leonard, ’79, Jeremy Naylor, ’99, and Bill Newman, ’75.
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Driving Maine’s talent and opportunity engineNortheastern’s Roux Institute in Portland, Maine, was a significant driver of our tremendously successful year. A dynamic learning, research, and innovation hub, the institute is moving to the location of the former B&M Baked Beans factory this year. Further, $1 million from Richard and Carolyn McGoldrick recently established the McGoldrick Family Graduate Promise Scholarship at the Roux and a $2 million commitment from Joe and Carol Wishcamper will support the Portland Campus Development Fund.
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Expanding opportunity for first-gen studentsJasper Lau, ’19, who founded venture capital firm Era, is a story of unbridled success. Now Lau, as the youngest member of the D’Amore-McKim School of Business Dean’s Executive Committee, is paying forward his good fortune by making gifts totaling over $500,000 to Northeastern. Most recently, he supported unpaid and underpaid co-ops for business students. He’s also championing first-generation college students like himself through the DMSB F1RST Scholars Program.
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Honoring a professor’s legacyThe late Professor Emerita Lakshmibai Venkatramani was a trailblazer for women in mathematics. She arrived at Northeastern in 1987 and was an accomplished researcher and dedicated teacher throughout her 32-year tenure. Venkatramani passed away in 2023, but she continues to inspire people, including her son, Girish. He established the Lakshimibai Venkatramani Fund for Math Graduate Students to honor his mother’s legacy; the fund will give students from underrepresented backgrounds the opportunity to pursue their dreams.
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Unlocking the complexities of brain healthCreated with a nearly $3.5 million commitment from Northeastern trustee and co-chair of the Experience Powered by Northeastern campaign Todd Manganaro, ’95, the Michele and Anthony Manganaro Distinguished Professorship will support vital research in brain health, including neurodegenerative diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, and other brain disorders.
Inspired innovation
Empowering women in STEM
The Russell Women in Science Leadership Program at Northeastern’s Mills Institute, on the university’s Oakland campus, launched in 2014 to help underserved student populations find their footing in scientific fields. Now, thanks in part to a commitment of $750,000 from Mills College alumna Cristine Russell, ’71, and her husband, Benjamin Heineman Jr., plans are underway to expand the program to other locations in the Northeastern network. Russell, for whom the program is named, is a longtime science journalist and senior fellow at Harvard University.
Boosting the culture of philanthropy
As Northeastern kicked off its 125th anniversary year, a group of 125 faculty and staff—dubbed the Campaign Champions—banded together to foster the university’s culture of philanthropy. On Northeastern’s Giving Day, the cohort inspired more than 720 faculty and staff to make gifts to over 205 funds. These leaders are demonstrating what it means to be a Husky by investing in the future of the university.
Gifting the world to Northeastern students
Edmund DiSanto, ’75, may have spent his career in Boston, but he has his gaze on the wider world—and wants to share it with Northeastern students. He and his wife, Colleen, pledged $500,000 this year: $250,000 for the Center for Emerging Markets, helping students have a global experience in a country with a developing economy; and $250,000 for Boston Public Schools graduates in the Foundation Year program, and support for educators to complete their bachelor’s degrees.
Showing gratitude through graduate scholarships
Graduate and doctoral students don’t necessarily have access to the same number of scholarships that undergrads do. Wing Chung, ’72, aims to change that by endowing two scholarships through the Alice Lee-Tsing and Wing K. Chung Fund in Civil Engineering. He hopes the gift will signify the gratitude he has for his Northeastern education, honor his late wife, and bring opportunities to engineering graduate and doctoral students who are academically gifted or demonstrate financial need.
Eventful engagements
Investing in women entrepreneurs
The 2024 Women Who Empower Innovator Awards provided $500,000 in funding to 33 Northeastern venture creators. This cohort—hailing from locations such as the U.S., U.K., Nigeria, Hong Kong, Nicaragua, and Vietnam—embodies Northeastern’s global reach. The award winners also span the spectrum of Northeastern’s academic offerings, representing every college at the university. Awards go to the individual women, not their ventures, so that they can invest in the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Breaking records on Giving Day
In April, a record-setting Giving Day at Northeastern secured gifts from 11,005 donors around the globe and spurred challenges that funded more than 100 areas. The 24-hour fundraising marathon—which includes students on Northeastern’s 13 global campuses—is a university-wide effort that brings together students, alumni, parents, employees, and friends. These results reflect the power of affinity-focused philanthropy, as donors generously backed academic colleges, student clubs, and athletics programs.
Envisioning a global future in Singapore
Northeastern’s fifth annual Global Leadership Summit, held in Singapore this year, convened hundreds of alumni, parents, students, and business, government, and education leaders. Luminaries included U.S. Ambassador to Singapore Jonathan Kaplan, Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism Sandiaga Uno, Managing Director of the Singapore Economic Development Board Jacqueline Poh, and CEO of Southeast Asia for Universal Music Group Calvin Wong. Participants discussed entrepreneurship, AI, the Asian music industry, healthcare and technology, the global supply chain, economic development, innovation, and sustainability.
Taking Experience to the next level in NYC
Hundreds of co-op students took to the stage during an Experience Powered by Northeastern event in Manhattan last spring. At the campaign gathering, Northeastern officially launched 115 Years of Co-op, a celebration of the university’s century-plus-long mission in experiential learning. “We are providing opportunities for our students to study in different contexts. What better place to do that than New York?” said President Joseph Aoun during the event.
Our alumni and community
320,000+
alumni live and work in 186 countries
32,119
members of the Northeastern community—including alumni, students, and families—supported nearly 300 events and programs last year
48
Northeastern communities on four continents , 25 of them in the U.S. and 23 based internationally
Alumni stories
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A rising star in literatureMicki Morency, ’81, will be the first to tell you that she longed for a career centered around her passion for books and reading. This year, Morency made that dream come true. Drawing inspiration from her immigration from Haiti to Boston and her work in social service, she published her debut novel, The Island Sisters, to critical acclaim and was named a Rising Star finalist by the Women Fiction Writers Association.
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Bolstering a lunar landingDavid Wyatt, ’88, is president of Wyatt Engineering, a manufacturer of flow measurement devices, which are critical instruments for monitoring fluid fluctuations and detecting leaks. Crediting the discipline that he fostered while at Northeastern and on co-op, Wyatt and his team successfully designed the flow meters that helped a lunar spacecraft, named Odysseus, control its landing and touch ground on the moon in February 2024.
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Breaking down barriers for young womenCeylan Rowe, ’03, found her calling after becoming aware of period poverty—the lack of access to menstrual products and education—in the Boston metro area. She founded Fihri to provide menstrual education and distribute sustainable period packs to financially disadvantaged students and disaster-stricken communities. Today, Fihri has sent more than 20,000 eco-friendly products to 12 countries, alleviating a substantial health and wellness barrier for young women across the globe.
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Elevating global storytellingKade Krichko, ’12, is no stranger to journalism. He’s written extensively for media powerhouses such as ESPN and The New York Times, and has reported from far-flung locations such as Lebanon, Cuba, and rural China. Now Krichko has launched Ori Magazine, a travel company and publication inspiring people with stories about global experiences. He’s also the creator of Game Plan, an initiative that connects Northeastern journalism students with established voices in sports media.
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Honoring a lifetime of healthcare leadershipFew leaders have been as influential in hospital administration as Steven Summer, ’72. Currently president and CEO of the Healthcare Institute, Summer has held similar roles at both the Colorado and West Virginia Hospital Associations. He credits his 1968 co-op at the Massachusetts Hospital Association for launching his professional journey. He highlighted that experience in his remarks while accepting the American Hospital Association Board of Trustees Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Today, a vanguard of donors is driving Northeastern’s historic $1.3 billion campaign. With initiatives that span the globe, accelerating outcomes, we’re creating a better world right now. Learn more about our mission