WKU earned a record-breaking $45 million in private donations in 2017-18, surpassing its record from the previous year by $9 million.

The $45 million for 2017-18 came from more than 14,000 donors from all 50 states and eight countries and more than 31,000 individual donations. During the previous year, WKU earned a then-record-breaking $36.3 million, according to the WKU Alumni Association.

John Paul Blair, interim vice president for philanthropy and alumni engagement, said the factors that went into the new private donation record included the impact of the donors, the campus community, the economy and stock market and WKU’s new leadership and vision for the university.

“People are beginning to get excited about our priorities as a university,” Blair said, including the university’s strategic plan as one of its new priorities.

Blair said that the university does not have all of the “cash in hand” from the $45 million because the total private donation amount includes current support for the university, new pledges and newly documented estate provisions. He said the amount is the “total picture” of the private support that WKU has received from 2017-18.

“Private support is more important than ever as WKU works to advance our students and add to the prosperity of our community, our region and the Commonwealth we serve,” Blair said. “We are most grateful.”

Nicole Ziege can be reached at 270-745-6011 and [email protected]. Follow Nicole Ziege on Twitter at @NicoleZiege.