Areas of Greatest Need
Like any great institution, Notre Dame must be able to respond to critical needs and emerging opportunities.
Gifts earmarked for the “Areas of Greatest Need” permit the University to address such issues. Notre Dame depends on Annual Fund contributions to maintain its financial strength and flexibility from year to year.
- Earnings from the Notre Dame Endowment cover only about 20% of annual operating expenses. We depend on unrestricted gifts to pick up where the endowment leaves off.
- Sometimes the most critical needs are also the most basic: when salt prices spiked over the past two years, Annual Fund dollars helped to cover the shortfall, keeping the sidewalks safe and clear.
- Last year, unrestricted monies allowed the University to swiftly and dramatically improve library holdings in sacred music; as a result, Notre Dame was able to recruit two of the world’s most renowned scholars of sacred music and liturgy.
- The Annual Fund is a key player in the University’s ongoing dorm renewal project, helping to purchase new windows, doors, bathrooms, and lighting in the residence halls, many of which have been virtually untouched for 20 years.
Make Notre Dame possible. Support the areas of greatest need.
