For the second year in a row, Rice University has been ranked No. 1 for happiest students in the Princeton Review’s annual guide to the country’s best colleges. Each year, Rice’s outstanding student experience is sustained by the support of thousands of alumni, parents, friends, faculty and staff who give to the Rice Annual Fund. 

The Annual Fund is the university's most powerful giving program. In addition to providing scholarships and fellowships to more than 900 students, the Annual Fund fuels a wide range of educational initiatives, from community-based internships to study abroad opportunities. The Annual Fund also benefits campus life by supporting the residential college system, intramural sports and even maintenance of Rice's hallmark canopy of mature oak trees. Taken together, these core elements are a big reason why our students' quality of life and academics are so excellent.

• 87% of the 12,635 total donors to Rice last fiscal year (July 1, 2011–June 30, 2012) gave through the Rice Annual Fund.
• Over the past five years, our supporters have helped grow the Annual Fund's yearly resources by 16%.
• On average, an additional $146 million in endowment assets (5% payout) would be needed to generate the same level of support provided through the Annual Fund each year.

Read how annual gifts are transforming Rice.