Did you know?
WOSU received the 2012 Artistic Excellence Award from the Greater Columbus Arts Council for its Columbus Neighborhoods project, which celebrates the city’s bicentennial.
In 2012, Covelli Enterprises owner and CEO Sam Covelli committed $10 million to The Ohio State University to assist in funding the construction of a multi-sport arena, providing critical amenities for student-athletes in men’s and women’s volleyball, gymnastics, fencing, and wrestling. It is the single largest cash gift from an individual donor to the Department of Athletics.
Ohio State ranks 10th nationally among public universities for the amount of total private support raised, based on a three-year average, and is the top university in Ohio for fundraising, according to the national Council for Aid to Education.
In the first three years of the grassroots fundraiser Pelotonia, more than 8,300 cyclists and virtual riders from 38 states have raised $25.4 million for The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. Thanks to sponsors, 100 percent of donations go directly to life-saving cancer research.
In fiscal year 2011, Ohio State's two-and-a-half-year-long Students First, Students Now fundraising initiative concluded, having exceeded its goal of $100 million in new student support by $16 million.
Ohio State's first philanthropic gift was 361 acres of farmland from William and Hannah Neil, upon which the university was built. Hannah Neil is credited with starting organized charity in Columbus, while William was known as "the Old Stagecoach King."
A record 211,000 alumni and friends gave nearly $365 million to The Ohio State University through June 30, 2012, making the last two years of fundraising at Ohio State the most successful in the university's history.
The largest gift to Ohio State in the university's history is a $100 million commitment in 2011 from alumnus and former Board of Trustees chair Leslie H. Wexner, his wife, Abigail, and the Limited Brands Foundation.