Philanthropy: Making a Difference

ESS_undergrad_KarlLangJune is an exciting month for students (graduation, summer) and faculty (fieldwork) at the College of the Environment. We anticipate another strong year in private support, thanks to an ever-increasing number of gifts and private grants. We can’t overstate how important this private support is in helping the College achieve its educational, research, and public engagement goals. Donor support has allowed us to expand our course and major/minor offerings, recruit (and retain) key faculty, provide scholarships, develop cross-disciplinary programs, and provide seed funding to tackle the environmental issues we face today. Thank you!

Below is a small sampling of gifts and grants received by the College in the past two months.  They illustrate the depth and breadth of our donor’s interests and the people and programs they support:

  • $250,000 in distributions from the Estate of Wilbert Danner (UW B.S. 1946, M.S. 1949, and Ph.D. 1957, all in Geological Sciences) to create a new student support endowment (Earth and Space Sciences)
  • $300,000 from Climate Central to support the “50 State Climate Impacts and Preparedness Project” (Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere & Ocean)
  • $200,000 in grant funding from the James S. McDonnell Foundation in support of climate research at the land-atmosphere interface (Atmospheric Sciences)
  • $225,000 in gifts from several individuals and family foundations to fund the purchase and maintenance of a new CT scanner (Friday Harbor Labs)

There are many opportunities to help support the College of the Environment, either through the fund of your choice or through one of these funds:

For more information on ways to make a gift or programs you can support, please contact Marilyn Montgomery, associate dean for advancement, at (206) 221-0906 or mmmontg@uw.edu.