Your gift made a difference in 2023
Donors who contribute to Portland State are not just supporting aspiring students and brilliant faculty. They are acknowledging that our city needs cornerstone institutions like PSU to bring people together.
In the below report, we share special moments of connection and opportunity made possible in FY 2022-23 by philanthropy. Thank you for your generosity, and for your belief in the power of PSU to change lives and to serve our city.
Here's how you gave
$ 41.8 M Dollars Raised
7,944 Total Gifts
5,493 Total Donors
26 % of donors gave multiple times
1,205 donations came from first-time donors
77 % of donors gave $1,000 or less
You made sure students succeed
Danna Guzman '23 looks ahead to a bright future.
As always, donors stepped up to champion talented students whose success will change their lives and serve our city. The first in her family to attend college, Danna Guzman ’23 received multiple scholarships and benefited from important programs supporting underrepresented students in STEM. Danna is now working at OHSU as a biomedical researcher while preparing for medical school.
$12.4M RAISED FOR SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS FROM 1,304 DONORS
You believed that faculty inspire
Olyssa Starry on a PSU green roof set up by a student she mentors.
Faculty at PSU are both subject area experts and student champions. Your support advanced the work of standout faculty such as urban ecologist Olyssa Starry, who holds a new Portland Professorship in the University Honors College. Thanks to donor support, Dr. Starry can provide paid student learning experiences, including the opportunity to work in her lab and attend academic conferences.
$7.2M raised for faculty positions and academic support
You helped students land great jobs
After earning his degree in the School of Business, Edwin Martinez '16 was hired by adidas where he currently works in brand strategy.
A $10 million gift from the estate of Portland State alumnus and former U.S. Bank CEO Gerry Cameron and his wife Marilyn Cameron will benefit faculty and students in the PSU School of Business and significantly enhance career services for business students who will build Oregon’s diverse talent stream. This gift is among the largest single contributions ever received by PSU from a donor family.
Gifts of $1M or more accounted for about 48% of total contributions
You served as PSU champions
Representative Ben Bowman, Senator Wlnsvey Campos, and Representative Khanh Pham '18 joined PSU advocates during a Ways and Means Committee Town Hall.
This year PSU alumni advocates, faculty, students and friends lobbied for Portland State University during the 2023 legislative session, helping to secure record investment by the state of Oregon in public universities—and to provide support for diverse students, post-covid improvements, and capital projects such as the Vernier Science Center and the PSU School of Art, Art History + Design.
PSU advocates helped secure $1B in public funding for Oregon universities
Together you were mighty alumni
Proud PSU participants at the 2023 Portland Pride Parade.
In a show of strength and support, more than 80 PSU alumni, students, faculty and staff marched together in the 2023 Portland Pride Parade to celebrate the university’s strong commitment to LGBTQ+ communities and causes. During this reporting year, the PSU Alumni Association and PSU Foundation worked together to cultivate alumni as a powerful force for good in our community.
More than 100,000 PSU alumni live in the metro area
You helped tell PSU stories
PSU student ambassadors Sophia Kogan '23 and Danna Guzman '23 on KOIN 6.
Thanks to funding from numerous donor-sponsors, the PSU Foundation and Portland State presented a cavalcade of PSU media stories on KOIN 6, including an hour-long broadcast in November. The PSU Showcase featured inspirational tales of remarkable PSU faculty, students and alumni contributing to the vitality of our region. The televised broadcast illustrated the power of PSU to serve our city.
Donor-SPONSORS helped generate 7.5M media impressions about PSU
You helped students stay on track
Emergency grants help cover transportation costs. More than 30% of PSU students take public transit to get to campus.
For the fourth year in a row, hundreds of donors contributed to emergency support funds to help PSU students facing urgent or unexpected expenses overcome temporary obstacles and stay on track to graduate. Resources were distributed in the form of one-time microgrants to help cover immediate needs such as housing, food, transportation, childcare or medical bills.
$777K raised for hardship and emergency funds from 726 donors
You showed up for grassroots giving
Students participating in on-campus activities during the 2023 Day of Giving earned contributions to support their favorite PSU causes.
Two PSU Days of Giving created a grassroots bonanza in support of numerous giving opportunities this year. Social-media-powered campaigns inspired hundreds of faculty, alumni, students and friends to contribute to their favorite campus causes. They supported everything from scholarships and emergency funds to departments, centers, student groups and special projects.
Grassroots donors contributed nearly $430K to support causes across campus
You built forever legacies
Study of the liberal arts empowers students to contribute to a more inclusive and vibrant society.
This year planned and estate commitments advanced excellence across PSU. One exceptional commitment currently valued at $6 million from Philip Collier Smith will provide future scholarships for humanities students. This landmark gift is among the most significant investments to advance the study of the humanities, an important statement about the enduring value of the liberal arts.
$13.8m in planned gift and estate commitments
You enabled global learning
Students sponsored to study in Denmark by the Seattle-based Scan Design Foundation.
Corporations and grant-making organizations funded innovative projects and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, including a study-abroad program in Denmark enabling students interested in sustainable transportation to experience firsthand how pedestrian, bicycle, public transportation and auto modes can provide sustainable mobility across urban, suburban and rural communities.
Corporations and grant-making organizations contributed $13.8m
You made Graduation Joy possible
Around 5,500 students graduated from Portland State University in 2023, many the first in their families to attend college. More than 70% of PSU graduates remain in the region, contributing to Oregon's diverse workforce.