Welcome to the 2023 Honor Roll of Donors. The honor roll layout is taking a new format this year, but all the same information is included. As in years past, you’ll need your VMI Ranks login to view the lists in order to protect the privacy of donors.
A Letter from the CEO | Impact of Giving | Highlights of Giving | Stories of Your Impact | Donor Rolls
In Fiscal Year 2023, the alumni, faculty, staff, parents, and friends of Virginia Military Institute continued their long tradition of generosity to the Institute and the Corps of Cadets. They provided a grand total of more than $42.4 million in gifts and commitments. This magnificent sum is no anomaly. Over the past five years—from FY 2019–FY 2023—annual giving to VMI has averaged $38.2 million.
Many donors direct their philanthropy to the components of VMI Annual Giving, such as the Foundation Fund and the Keydet Club Scholarship Fund. Others use them to aid certain athletic teams, academic departments, and cadet activities. They also donate to the hundreds of existing endowments that support such things as class scholarships and academic chairs. Two capital projects on post—the Aquatic Center and the baseball field—have received exceptionally generous private support, as well.
A great deal of this giving has been in commitments, whether they be short-term pledges, such as younger alumni often make during class reunion campaigns, or gifts made using a trust or a will. While it may take several years or decades for them to be realized, commitments have an additional benefit beyond their positive effect on the Institute’s ability to transform young people into confident, well-educated graduates ready for lives of service and success. They provide the Institute with an idea of the resources available in the future—and that grants its leaders a strong sense of confidence as they develop plans for the short and near term.
This confidence is bolstered by the steady growth of the endowment that supports VMI. At the end of FY 2023, thanks to the philanthropy of the VMI family and the careful management of VMI Investment Holdings, LLC, the endowment’s value stood at $702 million. Certainly, other colleges and universities have much larger endowments. But according to one report, in FY 2022, the Institute had the largest endowment per capita of any Virginia public college or university—an incredible achievement considering the Corps of Cadets was about 1,512 strong in Fiscal Year 2023, and VMI is a purely undergraduate institution.
Private money is critical to the Institute. Money from the VMI Alumni Agencies made up almost 25% of the Institute’s operating budget, benefiting every aspect of its academic, co-curricular, and athletic programs and supporting key infrastructure. More specifically, the Institute’s budget for FY 2023 included $12.8 million in financial assistance to cadets provided by the VMI Alumni Agencies, helping to ensure that financial concerns are never a barrier between qualified young people and the innumerable benefits of a VMI education.
As you read the names of the thousands of individuals who made an often-sacrificial gift and/or commitment in support of VMI and its cadets in FY 2023, please keep in mind they were committing themselves to establishing or continuing their partnership with the Institute and their fellow donors in the ongoing effort to achieve and maintain excellence in every aspect of every program on post and, by doing so, ensuring every cadet is educated in the comprehensive manner—in mind, body, spirit, and character—that has been the hallmark of a VMI education since 1839. On behalf of the VMI Alumni Agencies, I thank them for their generosity—often sustained over decades—born of their steadfast devotion to the Institute and the hundreds of remarkable young people of the Corps of Cadets.
David L. Prasnicki
Chief Executive Officer
VMI Alumni Agencies
The combined giving from VMI alumni, family, and friends allows the Institute to enjoy extraordinary rankings amongst other colleges in the nation. The rankings in this brief video can be attributed to the generosity of those who believe and value the VMI mission.
Editor’s Note: This video appears on the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s article about Virginia Military Institute.
In support of the extraordinary educational experience that VMI provides, donors contributed $42.5 million in gifts and commitments during Fiscal Year 2023, which is well above the five-year average. Their generous gifts will ensure VMI continues to lead the way academically, athletically, and in its co-curricular programs.
When compared to the five-year average, cash raised, new pledges, and planned giving saw notable increases.
In Fiscal Year 2023, more than a quarter of VMI’s budget of $108.7 million came from private sources. This enduring generosity from the VMI family provides millions of dollars in private money every year and forms an underpinning of resources on which VMI cadets can rely.
In Fiscal Year 2023, alumni comprised the majority of donors, but a significant number of other members of the VMI family also gave.
Here are some of the ways that the Institute used the millions of dollars that the VMI Alumni Agencies provided as demonstrated in the fiscal year 2023 budget.
The generosity of the VMI family—past and present—touches the lives of hundreds of cadets every year. One way it does so is through full and partial scholarships. In Fiscal Year 2023, hundreds of cadets again received full and partial scholarships of all types.
Williams achieved what becomes a reality for only a tiny fraction of basketball-dribbling youth: Playing as a professional.
Even though he’s not an alumnus himself, Carson Irvine sings VMI’s praises whenever he’s given a chance.
Please Note: All donor rolls are behind VMI Ranks and require a login to access.
