The University received a record-setting $341.9 million in charitable gifts during the 2006 fiscal year, officials announced July 17.
The sum--totaling every dollar Duke received between July 1, 2005 and June 30, 2006--surpassed the previous year's total by $66.1 million and broke the University's previous record of $302.6 million, which was set in 2000.
More than one-third of alumni donations were acquired during the fourth quarter, which began April 1 and ended June 30.
Officials said the increase is indicative of donor optimism, even in light of recent events involving the men's lacrosse team.
"The unparalleled support that Duke received will benefit people in every corner of the campus and support projects that extend beyond campus bounds," President Richard Brodhead said in a statement.
"I want to express my deepest gratitude to all the Duke alumni and alumnae, parents, students and friends who made contributions."
The gifts will go toward funding a variety of programs and initiatives, supporting everything from the School of Medicine to athletics, said Peter Vaughn, executive director of alumni and developmental communications.
Donations came from a total of 95,614 donors, about 41,000 of whom are Duke alumni.
Vaughn said the record-breaking year can in part be attributed to the University's Financial Aid Initiative, which was launched in December and aims to raise $300 million in the next three years.
Vaughn said it was impossible to determine whether there was a direct correlation between the lacrosse incident and the rise in alumni contributions. Increases in fourth-quarter giving are "not unusual," he explained.
"But what seemed interesting was that the giving was every bit as high as in the normal year," he added.
John Burness, senior vice president for public affairs and government relations, said the record-breaking number of philanthropic gifts seems to corroborate the fact that alumni have supported the general position of the University during the lacrosse scandal.
"It's evidence of Duke alumni rallying," Burness said. "If the lacrosse issue had been a serious issue, then we would have seen a decrease in donations."
The Duke Endowment, which in October pledged $75 million to be paid over three years to the financial aid endowment, was the University's largest single donor with a $53.6-million contribution.
"Duke donors have made it clear that they support the University's direction and are optimistic about its future," Robert Shepard, vice president for alumni affairs and development, said in a statement.
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