Annual Giving

You are an integral member of the Vanderbilt University community. With an annual gift to the University Priorities fund, you help empower our mission of academic excellence, innovative discovery and service through leadership.

Gifts to the University Priorities fund provide immediate financial support to areas of the university facing the greatest need and with the highest opportunity to foster cross-disciplinary success.

Your generosity opens doors for Vanderbilt student-athletes to succeed in competition, in the classroom, and in life. With an annual gift, you join the National Commodore Club and help create life-changing opportunities for current and future student-athletes.

When you invest in Athletics through an annual gift, you provide:

• Scholarship support for student-athletes
• The resources needed for our student-athletes to train like champions
• Opportunities for our student-athletes to achieve in the classroom and beyond

Learn more about the National Commodore Club at vu.edu/ncc.

At Vanderbilt, career exploration is a critical part of the student experience. Your gift helps equip students with the confidence, resources, and support they need to navigate their professional paths.

When you invest in Career Center initiatives, you support programs that open doors and remove barriers:

• Vandy Ready Fund offers career coaching, résumé building, and industry workshops to prepare students for the workforce
• Internships Fund helps break down financial barriers so students can pursue life-changing internship opportunities and gain hands-on experience
• Experiential Learning Fund supports career treks and industry site visits, giving students firsthand insights and valuable professional connections
• Commodore Compass connects current students with alumni mentors for career, education, and industry guidance. You can also give your time by joining the Commodore Compass mentorship platform

Your support fuels discovery and innovation at the Jean and Alexander Heard Library. With an annual gift to the library, you help provide exceptional opportunities for our student and faculty researchers.

When you invest in the library, you support:

• The acquisition of state-of-the-art resources for scholarly research
• The preservation of special collections and digital archives
• Special programs, lectures, workshops and exhibits

Your support strengthens the College of Arts and Science and creates transformative opportunities for today’s and tomorrow’s students.

When you invest in the College of Arts and Science by making an annual gift, you provide:

• Contemporary programs that extend educational growth beyond the classrooms into our living-learning communities
• Technology and facility improvements like the Wond'ry, our cross-disciplinary innovation space where students create, invent and explore promising ideas
• The opportunity for students to be taught by faculty who are Guggenheim Fellows, as well those who have been selected for membership in elite organizations such the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Science.

Your support fuels discovery and advances the future of biomedical research within the Basic Sciences. With an annual gift, you help drive innovation while preparing the next generation of scientific leaders by creating:

• A verdant academic environment for our graduate and postdoctoral students.
• Cutting-edge technology to conduct biomedical research and drug discovery.
• The ability to attract and retain accomplished, innovative faculty.

Your support helps Blair School of Music students thrive as artists, scholars, and leaders. With an annual gift, you create meaningful opportunities for current and future generations.

When you invest in Blair through an annual gift, you provide:

• Scholarships that make students' dreams possible
• Opportunities to host a dynamic lineup of performers on campus
• Resources to attract and retain world-class faculty

Your support strengthens the Vanderbilt Divinity School’s mission to educate leaders grounded in faith, justice, and service. With an annual gift, you help create meaningful opportunities for current and future students.

When you invest in the Divinity School, you provide:

• Resources for the building renovation and expansion to create better teaching and gathering spaces for a more collaborative environment
• Thought-leadership presentations on important societal issues, such as the Cole, Antoinette Brown, Harrod and Bogitsch Lectures
• Programs such as the Transformative Justice series that develops social change leaders through the arts
• Scholarships for talented students

Your support drives innovation and empowers students in the School of Engineering to shape the future. With an annual gift, you help create transformative opportunities for current and future engineers.

When you invest in the School of Engineering with an annual gift, you provide:

• Contemporary programs that extend educational growth beyond the classrooms into our living-learning communities
• Technology and facility improvements like the Wond'ry, our cross-disciplinary innovation space where students create, invent and explore promising ideas
• Resources for our accomplished professors to achieve a 2022 U.S. News & World Report ranking of No. 33 in Best Undergraduate Teaching

An annual gift to the Vanderbilt Graduate School strengthens academic excellence and drives forward the work of students and faculty across disciplines. This investment helps advance the university’s broader mission in education and research.

When you invest in the Graduate School, you help:

• Provide opportunities for scholarships that train the next generation of leaders in in a variety of disciplines
• Promote excellence in research and scholarship through state-of-the-art resources
• Recruit the most promising pre- and post-doctoral scholars from diverse backgrounds

An annual gift to Vanderbilt Law School opens doors for students to gain the knowledge, experience, and mentorship they need to become leaders in the legal field. This commitment helps create meaningful opportunities for both current students and future professionals.

When you invest in the law school, you provide:

• Opportunities for financial assistance, like the Helen Strong Curry International Law Scholarship, for talented students who otherwise couldn't afford a legal education
• Contemporary programs, such as on-campus lectures by national government leaders, that extend educational growth beyond the classrooms
• Cutting-edge thought leadership on current legal issues presented in podcasts by our esteemed faculty

By giving to Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, you help shape a learning experience rooted in innovation, compassion, and impact. Your annual gift supports immersive clinical training, cutting-edge research, and a curriculum designed to prepare tomorrow’s health care leaders and scientific trailblazers.

When you invest in VUSM, you provide:

• Scholarship opportunities for gifted students to study at VUSM, which helps recruit the brightest scholars.
• State-of-the-art technology and resources to help our students learn and discover as part of our Curriculum 2.0

Annual gifts to Vanderbilt University School of Nursing empower nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, nurse informaticists, nurse leaders, and nurse scientists to innovate, lead, and transform healthcare for communities near and far.

When you invest in VUSN, you provide:

• Scholarship opportunities for talented students to study at VUSN, which helps to address the nationwide registered nurses shortage.
• State-of-the-art technology and equipment to advance nursing education, clinical scholarship, research and patient care.
• The ability to attract and retain accomplished faculty to train future nurse leaders.

Our mission to provide a world-class business education on a personal scale is being realized and reimagined. Your support makes all of this possible. Every gift to the Owen Annual Fund impacts the life of your school and Owen students including:

• Enabling significant strategic initiatives to build for the future of Owen, such as the donor-led renovation and expansion of Management Hall.
• Helping to fuel scholarships and financial aid that make an Owen education accessible to the best and brightest.
• Funding world-class initiatives and centers, like the Center for Entrepreneurship, which provides students the opportunity to advance research, design and develop new products and collaborate across disciplines.
• Supporting areas of greatest need, such as travel for case competitions, executing experiential learning opportunities for our students and ensuring that we can meet students' unexpected financial needs.

To make a gift of any size to the Owen Annual Fund visit us online at vu.edu/giveowen. If you have any questions regarding support for Owen, please contact alum@vanderbilt.edu.

An annual gift to Peabody College creates meaningful opportunities that support the growth and success of today’s and tomorrow’s students.

When you invest in Peabody College by making an annual gift, you provide:

• Contemporary programs that extend educational growth beyond the classrooms into our living-learning communities
• Technology and facility improvements like the Wond'ry, our cross-disciplinary innovation space where students create, invent and explore promising ideas
• Resources for our accomplished professors to achieve a 2023 U.S. News & World Report ranking of No. 6 in Best Education Schools

The Wond’ry offers state of the art makerspaces, workshops, training opportunities, and programs designed to support anyone from budding entrepreneurs to community changemakers.

The Wond’ry welcomes students from all backgrounds, disciplines, and abilities, empowering them to develop innovative and creative solutions that change the world.

Your gift to the Wond'ry helps:

• Facilitate transinstitutional collaboration between students, faculty, and staff from all schools, levels, and disciplines.
• Provide students opportunities to gain real-world experience in creating new processes, building new technologies, and forming fresh insights.
• Build, innovate, explore and care. Here, our campus community can turn abstract ideas into realities that make a difference in people’s lives.

Learn more about the Wond'ry. 

An annual gift to the College of Connected Computing fuels a bold, interdisciplinary vision for computing education and research at Vanderbilt.

When you support the College of Connected Computing with an annual gift, you help provide:

• Endowed faculty positions, including a dean’s chair and support for distinguished professors leading advancements in fields like AI, data science, and robotics
• Funding to launch the college’s inaugural leadership and expand interdisciplinary programs such as computer science, data science, and a new minor in generative AI
• Cutting-edge research and collaboration spaces that empower faculty and students to tackle complex societal challenges through computing innovation

Opportunity Vanderbilt removes financial barriers so that talented students from all backgrounds can attend and thrive at Vanderbilt without the burden of student loans

When you support Opportunity Vanderbilt with an annual gift, you help provide:

• Need-blind admissions and full-need financial aid packages that replace loans with scholarships and grants
• Expanded access for students from middle- and lower-income families, contributing to a more diverse and inclusive campus community
• A transformational financial aid program that has awarded over $2.6 billion to more than 15,000 students since 2009

An annual gift to Immersion Vanderbilt empowers students to transform their academic learning into real-world impact through hands-on experiences and creative projects.

When you support Immersion Vanderbilt with an annual gift, you help provide:

• Immersive experience pathways that include research, study abroad, internships, civic engagement, leadership development, and innovation, all allowing students to explore their passions beyond the classroom
• Flexible culminating projects, ranging from research papers and artistic performances to podcasts and community initiatives. that enable students to synthesize and showcase their learning
• Funding and mentorship opportunities, such as the Vanderbilt Undergraduate Summer Research Program (VUSRP), that support students in conducting full-time research under the guidance of Vanderbilt faculty