Fundraising campaign exceeds all expectations

The aim of the government-supported campaign that launched in 2015 was to raise 20 million euros as monetary donations and further increase the number of Aalto University supporters. The Finnish government will match the donations by an estimated factor of 1 to 1.5. The government's supplementary funding and exact matching factor will be announced at a later date. The campaign ends on 30 June 2017.

‘I want to extend my warmest thank to all those who donated. In a short amount of time, Aalto University has generated much international interest, and these donations will help us address global and national challenges in a more effective way. With high-quality research and by educating a new generation of experts, we can create more work, economic growth and wellbeing for Finland,’ notes Ilkka Niemelä, who will become the President of Aalto University on 1 July.

The Heart Campus campaign, which was part of the The Future is Made Today campaign, was aimed at the students and staff of Aalto University. Almost 100 people participated by sharing their own stories or photos and by donating 26,000 euros in total.

Donations help build the future

The campaign allowed donors to target their donations to the University's activities in general or to one of three fields: business, art and design, or technology.

Aalto University focuses on top-quality research and teaching. Supporting the enthusiasm of our students and preparing them for future working life are our most important objectives.

The donations will become part of Aalto University's capital. The donations will be added to the University's funds and invested in capital markets in accordance with the University's investment strategy.

The additional funding generated by this capital income will help the University to remain economically independent and improve the University's capacity for directing resources towards strategic focus areas and develop its activities as a top university. In the coming years, the capital gains will be used to cover around 5 % of the University's annual operating budget.

Donations are still tax-deductible

Aalto University will continue its fundraising even after this current matched-funding campaign. Donations are still tax-deductible for at least the end of this year for private donors as well as companies and organisations. To be eligible for a tax deduction, the donation must amount to at least 850 euros per year and it can be given in several instalments throughout the year.

Aalto University was founded in January 2010 by merging together Finland’s top universities of design, economics and technology. Between 2008 and 2011, Aalto University received a total of approximately 200 million euros in capital as donations from Finnish companies, organisations and private persons. The government granted the university 2.5 times this sum in government capitalisation. This fundraising helped the University accumulate an endowment capital of a total of approximately 700 million euros.

The accumulation of the University's endowment capital was ensured by the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries, the Technology Industries of Finland Centennial Foundation, Liikesivistysrahaston kannatusyhdistys ry, Teollisuuden ja työnantajain Keskusliiton (TT) -säätiö, Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland (TEK), The Finnish Business School Graduates and the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK.

Further information:
Ilkka Niemelä, President from 1 July, president@aalto.fi
Coordinator Pirjo Peippo-Lavikka, tel. +358 50 512 2496.