Georgetown Law Hits $40 Million Fundraising Milestone

During the last fiscal year, Georgetown Law’s alumni community, foundations and friends contributed a record-breaking $40 million in gifts and pledges to the school, shattering the previous year’s record of $30 million.

“The last four years have been the most successful in our fundraising history,” said Georgetown Law Dean William M. Treanor. “The generous support that we have received from our community is a testament to Georgetown Law’s academic excellence, our outstanding faculty, the importance of our Centers and Institutes, and the invaluable work we do in educating lawyers who will make a profound difference in the world.”

This year’s total includes the largest one-time commitment in the history of Georgetown Law, a $10.5 million gift from alumnus Scott K. Ginsburg (L’78) to support the University’s purchase of the building at the corner of 1st Street and E Street, NW, which will expand the Law Center campus. In recognition of the gift, Georgetown Law launched the Scott K. Ginsburg Professorship series; Rosa Brooks was installed as the first Ginsburg Professor this spring.

“Ginsburg’s historic gift has been the catalyst for additional gifts in support of the vision of an expanded campus,” Treanor said. “We will continue to focus fundraising efforts on transforming the campus into a state of the art learning environment.”

In addition to the Ginsburg gift, which will allow for the creation of seven new professorships, two donors committed gifts totaling $11 million that will establish two new endowed chairs. “We now have 53 chairs and professorships, compared with just 25 in 2010,” Treanor said. “This is a clear recognition of the high esteem in which our alumni hold our faculty.”

The Law Center’s commitment to providing access to all students, regardless of their ability to afford tuition, remains a top focus for fundraising efforts. During the past year, the Law Center exceeded its five-year, $15 million campaign goal for the Opportunity Scholarship Program, raising $17.8 million in just four years to provide support for high merit-high need students. In addition, the annual fund raised a remarkable $9.4 million in cash gifts and pledges this past year, almost all dedicated to financial aid. To put that figure in context, in fiscal year 2011, the annual fund accounted for just over $2 million in current use gifts.

“It is inspiring to see Georgetown Law alumni respond so powerfully to help our students,” Treanor said. “It is an extraordinary time for Georgetown Law, and our entire community should take pride in what we’ve accomplished. In the 2020-21 academic year, we will mark our 150th anniversary…we will be ramping up our fundraising efforts as we prepare to celebrate 150 years of history and, more important, continue to obtain support that will help us to pursue our work of education and scholarship and to advance the mission reflected in our great motto, ‘Law is but the means. Justice is the end.’ I look forward to what we will achieve in the years ahead.”