Rice Annual Fund

The Rice Annual Fund is a powerful source of current-use, unrestricted funding that supports the full range of extraordinary learning opportunities at Rice. Your support of the Rice Annual Fund every year attracts talented and curious students to Rice, enables them to take part in cutting-edge research and scholarship, and provides the broad support for teaching excellence and extramural activities that distinguish the student experience as one of the best in the nation.

Your philanthropy brings talented and curious students to the university, where they take part in cutting-edge research and thrive in our diverse community.

The Rice Investment l Leadership Giving l Young Alumni Recognition Societies

Be TRANSFORMATIVE

The Rice Annual Fund is a strategic priority of Be Bold, the Campaign For Rice, a comprehensive fundraising effort that seeks to ensure access to a transformative student experience. As the university’s most powerful source of unrestricted gifts, the Annual Fund provides critical support to everything from generous financial aid to teaching resources to residential college life. Taken together, these resources enhance the quality of life and learning for all students.

$7.3 million

raised in FY 2022

26,436
alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends generously gave back to the university
1,488
donors made their first-ever gift to the Rice Annual Fund

The Rice Investment

To ensure that the most deserving students have the opportunity to realize their full potential, the university announced The Rice Investment, a bold financial aid initiative that will reduce barriers for low- and middle-income families.

While the university will rely on financial aid endowments to continually support The Rice Investment, current-use scholarships from the Rice Annual Fund play a vital role in ensuring that this important commitment to access and affordability can take effect immediately.

Your gift to the Rice Annual Fund in support of The Rice Investment will:

  • Remove obstacles that prospective students face when considering Rice.
  • Attract and support a talented and diverse student body.
  • Ensure our Owls can pursue opportunities without the burden of significant debt.

Note: If you would like to designate your gift toward The Rice Investment, be sure to choose “Rice Annual Fund-The Rice Investment/Undergraduate Scholarships” in the designation dropdown menu on the online giving form.

Commencement

Leadership Giving

The Rice Annual Fund relies on a strong tradition of leadership giving to support the scholarships, academic resources and campus life initiatives that keep Rice unique and vibrant. Recognition at one of these levels is based on unrestricted gifts to the Rice Annual Fund, including corporate matching gifts, during one fiscal year (July 1–June 30).

Recognition Societies
Campanile Society $50,000 or more
Sallyport Society $25,000–$49,999
Lovett Society $10,000–$24,999
Brown Society $5,000–$9,999
Charter Society $2,500–$4,999

To learn more about giving at the leadership level, please view the FY23 Annual Fund Leadership Giving Proposal or contact giving@rice.edu.

Young Alumni Leadership Recognition Societies

Young alumni who give at the leadership level enjoy special recognition and Rice networking opportunities as members of the Edgar Odell Lovett Society or Charter Society. There were 68 young alumni who became philanthropic leaders in 2021–2022!

Lovett Society
Class of 2012-2013 $2,500
Classes of 2014-2022 $1,000
Charter Society
Classes of 2012–2013 $1,000
Classes of 2014–2018 $500
Classes of 2019–2022 $250

Community of Support

Community of Support

Publications like U.S. News and World Report consider undergraduate alumni participation when determining Rice’s national college ranking each year.

These rankings heavily influence how third parties view Rice and affect the university’s ability to secure grants from corporations and other organizations.

Young Alumni Support

Young alumni (graduates within the last decade) make up 28% of Rice’s overall alumni base. That represents a significant proportion of our alumni - and the potential to make a big difference as volunteers and donors.

Volunteers

Each year, more than 2350 Rice Annual Fund volunteers serve as ambassadors for the university, making important connections and encouraging classmates and peers to participate in the university's tradition of giving back.

Giving to Rice

Development & Alumni Relations
P.O. BOX 1892
Houston, Texas 77251-1892

Phone: 713-348-4991
Email: giving@rice.edu

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Thank you for your support!