When current and former parents and families make gifts to The Wake Forest Fund, their gifts contribute to the Parents’ Campaign. Gifts to the Wake Forest Fund are unrestricted, which means they go where they’re needed most—covering things tuition and endowment dollars don’t. These gifts afford the University the most flexibility based on where they are designated – from recruiting and retaining top faculty, to providing leading edge technology in the classrooms and library, to our expanded and outstanding career development program. Gifts to the Parents’ Campaign make an immediate impact on Wake Forest students!
Each and every gift – of any size is appreciated. Each year over 3,000 parents and families support the Parents’ Campaign – an outstanding indicator of student and family satisfaction with the University.
For More Information
To learn more about how you can support these efforts, contact:
Janelle Cunningham
Assistant Director
Office of Family Engagement
cunninj@wfu.edu
336.758.4237
2024-2025 Parents’ Campaign Results
The 2024-2025 Parents’ Campaign was RECORD SETTING! A monumental $7.4 million in unrestricted funds were given to the Parents’ Campaign of the Wake Forest Fund. Not only was the overall total incredible:
- Current parent, non-alumni giving increased 16% to $5.7 million
- Past parents set their own record contributing $1 million
- The Parents’ Council contributed $3.5 million of the $7.4 million total – nearly 50%
2025-2026 Parents’ Campaign Goals
While we celebrate last year’s success, we also challenge ourselves to surpass the outstanding success we experienced. This year’s Parents’ Campaign goal is to raise $8 million for Wake Forest. Your gifts to Wake Forest are building a wonderful experience for our students today, and an even brighter one for Wake Foresters of the future.
Most private schools have three main sources of funding: tuition, income from the endowment, and annual gifts. Tuition does not cover the full cost of running a private university. Without the generous support of current and past parents and families – along with alumni and friends – tuition would have to be higher than it currently is to maintain the full Wake Forest experience our students enjoy.
Annual, unrestricted gifts to The Wake Forest Fund are not invested – they are used right now to sustain current year operations and activities. Annual gifts are the lifeblood of the institution by providing a source of unrestricted operating support. As foundations and corporations consider grant applications, they frequently ask about the percentage of participation in giving from Wake Forest alumni, parents and families, and friends.
You can designate your gift to any of the following areas of the Wake Forest Fund as part of your Parents’ Campaign contribution – Beautiful Campus, Career Readiness, College, Student Aid, Student Experience, ZSR Library, School of Business, School of Divinity, School of Law, Graduate School, or School of Medicine.
The decision as to the size of your gift is a personal one – the important part is that parents participate in the Parents’ Campaign, no matter the amount. Families give from $10 to $50,000; gifts at every level are needed and appreciated!
An increasing number of parents and families have chosen to join one of our Giving Societies. There are benefits for both the donor and the university when joining a Giving Society. More information about these commitments can be found here: https://giving.wfu.edu/giving-societies/
Are there other ways to support Wake Forest?
The leading areas of restricted support for parents and families have been as follows:
Access and Opportunity
- 1834 Scholars Program
- Magnolia Scholars/First in the Forest
- Merit and Presidential Scholarships
Campus life
- Campus Life Program Funds
- Campus Recreation
- We Are Wake
College and Academic life
- Academic Department Funds
- Center for Entrepreneurship
- Endowed Chairs and Fellowships
- Library
- Office of Personal and Career Development
- Program for Leadership and Character
- Wake the Arts