NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION

THE NIU FOUNDATION: ADVANCING NIU, MOVING FORWARD THE NIU FOUNDATION IS A NOT-FOR-PROFIT ENTITY THAT ENGAGES FRIENDS AND ALUMNI AND SECURES AND MANAGES GIFTS IN SUPPORT OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY. THE NIU FOUNDATION AND DIVISION OF UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT ALIGN THE PHILANTHROPIC ENTERPRISE WITH INSTITUTIONAL PRIORITIES TO DRIVE STRATEGIC, TRANSFORMATIONAL GROWTH. CREATING LIFE-CHANGING OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR HARDWORKING STUDENTS AND FACULTY IS THE NIU FOUNDATION'S HIGHEST PRIORITY. EACH YEAR, THOUSANDS OF ALUMNI AND DONORS JOIN US IN THIS ENDEAVOR BY PROVIDING GIFTS THAT SUPPORT SCHOLARSHIPS, PROGRAMS, AND FACILITIES. FY25 WAS A HISTORIC YEAR, MARKED BY RECORD-SETTING GENEROSITY AND THE PUBLIC LAUNCH OF FORWARD: THE CAMPAIGN FOR NIU. FORWARD: THE CAMPAIGN FOR NIU ON JUNE 14, 2025, HUNDREDS OF MEMBERS OF THE NIU COMMUNITY GATHERED AT THE NIU CONVOCATION CENTER TO CELEBRATE THE LAUNCH OF THE LARGEST FUNDRAISING EFFORT IN UNIVERSITY HISTORY. WITH A BOLD $300 MILLION GOAL, FORWARD IS A COMPREHENSIVE CAMPAIGN TO ACCELERATE STUDENT SUCCESS, EMPOWER FACULTY EXCELLENCE, AND EXPAND NIU'S REGIONAL AND GLOBAL IMPACT. THE CAMPAIGN IS ANCHORED BY THREE COMMITMENTS: EXPANDING TRANSFORMATIONAL EXPERIENCES BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS TO EDUCATION AND EMPOWERING STUDENTS THROUGH SCHOLARSHIPS, MENTORING, AND HANDS-ON LEARNING. INSPIRING DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION FUELING FACULTY AND STUDENT RESEARCH, CREATIVITY, AND PARTNERSHIPS THAT TURN IDEAS INTO SOLUTIONS. FORTIFYING OUR FUTURE STRENGTHENING NIU'S FINANCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY TO ENSURE A THRIVING INSTITUTION FOR GENERATIONS TO COME. TO DATE, DONORS HAVE RESPONDED WITH EXTRAORDINARY MOMENTUM. THE NIU FOUNDATION SECURED $61.8 MILLION IN NEW GIFTS AND COMMITMENTS, INCLUDING REVOCABLE DEFERRED PLANNED GIFTS, IN FY25 ALONE, REFLECTING BOTH CONFIDENCE IN NIU'S VISION AND BELIEF IN THE POWER OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO TRANSFORM LIVES AND COMMUNITIES. THE UNIVERSITY WE SERVE NIU'S FOCUS ON REMOVING BARRIERS TO A HIGH-QUALITY EDUCATION CONTINUES TO ATTRACT TALENTED STUDENTS FROM ALL BACKGROUNDS. ENROLLMENT SURGED IN FALL 2025, DRIVEN BY GAINS IN NEW FRESHMEN, TRANSFERS, AND STRONG REENROLLMENT. NIU WELCOMED 2,435 NEW FRESHMEN, A 22 PERCENT INCREASE AND THE SECOND-LARGEST FRESHMAN CLASS SINCE 2014. THE UNIVERSITY ALSO ENROLLED 1,622 NEW TRANSFERS, UP 11 PERCENT AND THE LARGEST TRANSFER CLASS IN EIGHT YEARS. COMBINED, TOTAL ENROLLMENT REACHED 16,078 STUDENTS, A 4.3 PERCENT INCREASE OVER FALL 2024. FIFTY-FOUR PERCENT OF NEW FRESHMEN ARE FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS. FRESHMEN ENTERED WITH AN AVERAGE GPA OF 3.42, TYING THE HIGHEST AVERAGE GPA ON RECORD, AND 18 PERCENT HAD A PERFECT 4.0 GPA. ON-CAMPUS HOUSING REACHED 4,477 STUDENTS, THE HIGHEST IN A DECADE. NIU'S TEST-FREE ADMISSIONS POLICY AND ROBUST MERIT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM ENSURE ACCESS WHILE REWARDING ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE. IN FY25, THE FOUNDATION PROVIDED MORE THAN $3.6 MILLION IN SCHOLARSHIPS AND AID, MAKING HIGHER EDUCATION AFFORDABLE AND ATTAINABLE. THESE INVESTMENTS PAY DIVIDENDS: NINE OUT OF TEN STUDENTS WHO RECEIVE NIU FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS GRADUATE. NIU ALSO CONTINUES TO SHINE AS A NATIONAL LEADER IN SOCIAL MOBILITY, RANKED NO. 38 NATIONALLY OUT OF 500 INSTITUTIONS BY THE 2025 WALL STREET JOURNAL/COLLEGE PULSE, THE SECOND-HIGHEST RANKED PUBLIC UNIVERSITY IN ILLINOIS AND AMONG THE TOP FIVE IN THE MIDWEST. SUSTAINING EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION PHILANTHROPY ENSURES NIU CAN DELIVER ON ITS PROMISE OF EXCELLENCE. ENDOWMENT STRENGTH: $218 MILLION IN NET ASSETS, INCLUDING $131.5 MILLION IN ENDOWMENT (AS OF JUNE 30, 2025). THE NIU FOUNDATION'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS, ALL GENEROUS DONORS THEMSELVES, PROVIDES OVERSIGHT AND STEWARDSHIP. THROUGH ITS INVESTMENT COMMITTEE, THE BOARD SETS POLICIES TO BALANCE GROWTH, PROTECT PRINCIPAL, AND GENERATE RESOURCES FOR SCHOLARSHIPS, PROGRAMS, AND LONG-TERM PRIORITIES. BUILDING ON THAT STRENGTH, THE FOUNDATION'S ENDOWMENT GREW BY 22% THIS FISCAL YEAR, DRIVEN BY STRONG GIVING, ROBUST PLEDGES, AND EXCEPTIONAL INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE. THIS IMPRESSIVE GROWTH REFLECTS DONOR CONFIDENCE IN NIU'S FUTURE AND DISCIPLINED FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. FACULTY EXCELLENCE: ALUMNI AND DONOR SUPPORT FUELS RESEARCH AND TEACHING INNOVATIONS, FROM SUSTAINABILITY AND WATER RESOURCES TO BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING AND COMMUNITY HEALTH. NIU FACULTY ALSO PURSUE CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH IN FIELDS SUCH AS URBAN-REGIONAL MODELING, DISASTER ATTRIBUTION, CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE, PRAIRIE RESTORATION, AND EMERGING CHEMICAL IMPACTS. THESE EFFORTS ARE STRENGTHENED BY PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY, DEKALB COUNTY COMMUNITY GARDENS, THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, AND SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY. PROGRAMS SUCH AS RESEARCH ROOKIES PROVIDE UNDERGRADUATES WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN ALONGSIDE FACULTY MENTORS, BUILDING SKILLS AND CONFIDENCE FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL AND CAREERS. IN FY25, THE FOUNDATION PROVIDED MORE THAN $10.9 MILLION TO SUPPORT CAMPUS DEPARTMENTS, PROGRAMS, AND PROFESSORSHIPS. SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP: NIU'S COMMITMENT TO CLIMATE ACTION INCLUDES THE NORTHERN ILLINOIS CENTER FOR COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY (NICCS), A HUB OF THE ILLINOIS INNOVATION NETWORK. NICCS ADVANCES SOLUTIONS TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND SHIFTING DEMOGRAPHICS BY CONNECTING RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN FOOD SYSTEMS, WATER RESOURCES, AND ENVIRONMENTAL ADAPTATION, WHILE ALSO PROMOTING SCIENCE-BASED PRACTICES FOR COMMUNITIES. LANDMARK AND ONGOING CAPITAL PROJECTS: DONOR GENEROSITY HAS ALSO SHAPED THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT WHERE THE NIU COMMUNITY LEARNS AND LEADS. FROM BARSEMA HALL AND THE BARSEMA ALUMNI AND VISITORS CENTER TO THE YORDON CENTER AND THE CHESSICK PRACTICE FACILITY, ALUMNI AND DONORS HAVE LONG SET THE PACE FOR WHAT IS POSSIBLE. LOOKING AHEAD, PROJECTS SUCH AS NICCS, THE CENTER FOR GREEK LIFE, AND THE TRANSFORMATIONAL BAUSTERT BAHWELL HEALTH TECHNOLOGY CENTER WILL CONTINUE THAT TRADITION OF IMPACT. IN FY25, MORE THAN $2.4 MILLION WAS INVESTED IN BUILDING PROJECTS AND EQUIPMENT TO ENHANCE THE LEARNING AND LIVING ENVIRONMENT. IN TOTAL, THE NIU FOUNDATION INCREASED ITS GRANTS TO THE UNIVERSITY BY 10 PERCENT OVER FY24 RISING FROM $11.2 MILLION TO $12.3 MILLION REFLECTING A CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO ADVANCING ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND STUDENT SUCCESS. ENGAGING ALUMNI AND BUILDING COMMUNITY WITH MORE THAN 260,000 ALUMNI WORLDWIDE, NIU HAS A PROUD AND DEDICATED ALUMNI NETWORK THAT CONTRIBUTES TO THE VITALITY OF THE UNIVERSITY AND REGION. IN FY25, THE FOUNDATION HOSTED 111 ENGAGEMENT EVENTS, DRAWING 3,450 ATTENDEES, INCLUDING 605 FIRST-TIME PARTICIPANTS. THESE EVENTS STRENGTHEN CONNECTIONS WITH NIU, CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING, AND ENCOURAGE A CULTURE OF GIVING BACK. LOOKING AHEAD: A BRIGHT FUTURE THE NIU FOUNDATION ENTERS THE NEXT PHASE OF FORWARD WITH GRATITUDE AND DETERMINATION. DONOR GENEROSITY HAS ALREADY BEGUN TO TRANSFORM THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE, EMPOWER FACULTY DISCOVERY, AND FUEL COMMUNITY IMPACT. AS WE LOOK AHEAD, WE KNOW THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING. TOGETHER WITH ALUMNI AND DONORS, NIU IS MOVING FORWARD WITH PRIDE, PURPOSE, AND THE UNWAVERING BELIEF IN THE POWER OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO TRANSFORM THE WORLD WE SHARE.