The campaign’s fundraising goal seeks to raise $4 billion for the university’s highest priorities, a goal commensurate with U of T’s renowned depth and breadth as a world-leading institution of advanced research, its enormous global community of 700,000 alumni in more than 190 countries, and its outsized potential for impact.
In December 2024, the university marked two major milestones in the Defy Gravity campaign. A total of 170,283 U of T alumni have engaged with the university 771,870 times – achieving 75 per cent of the alumni engagement target and 77 per cent of the instances of engagement target well ahead of schedule. Additionally, the campaign has raised $2.054 billion at a record-setting pace, with contributions from 54,302 donors in 86 countries supporting a wide range of initiatives across U of T’s three campuses.
“I am in awe of how our community has come together to achieve these incredible milestones,” said U of T President Meric Gertler. “During a time of global uncertainty and upheaval, Defy Gravity reminds us that people turn to the University of Toronto as a trusted source of knowledge, innovation, resilience and leadership.”
A surge in alumni support
Through their involvement, U of T alumni are helping to advance key university priorities such as building international partnerships, growing Toronto’s innovation ecosystem, recruiting the brightest students and creating professional networks for students and recent graduates. They also helped make Alumni Reunion 2024 the most successful ever, with a record 14,500 alumni signing up to participate – a 21 per cent increase from 2023.
“U of T alumni are actively engaged in every aspect of the university’s academic mission,” said Som Seif (BASc 1999), a campaign co-chair. “It’s been amazing to see this degree of alumni engagement through Defy Gravity – an inspiring testament to our alumni and friends’ faith in the institution and its people. We are fortunate that our alumni include so many leaders in nearly every field of human endeavour – across all public, private, civil and charitable sectors. Their involvement greatly enriches the experience of our students, faculty members and programs in countless ways.”
A record 23,166 alumni have served as volunteers and mentors throughout the campaign, generously sharing their time and experiences and offering invaluable guidance to current students.
Empowering students across campuses and disciplines
Since its inception, donors to the Defy Gravity campaign have generously given $339 million for student support across a broad range of disciplines, from education and English literature to medicine and musicology. More than 19,811 donors have contributed to student awards, strengthening U of T’s commitment to remaining one of the most accessible, top-ranked universities in the world – and the country’s largest engine of social mobility and progress.
“With its bold message of finding solutions to society’s hardest challenges through inclusive excellence, accessibility and innovation right here at U of T, Defy Gravity has been a tremendous catalyst for investing in our strengths,” said Claire Kennedy (BASc 1989, Hon LLD 2023), a campaign co-chair. “Thanks to generous support from donors and alumni all over the world, future generations of leaders, builders and problem solvers will realize their potential here at U of T, to the benefit of Canada and the world.”
Supporting talent, innovation and groundbreaking research
The campaign is also fuelling cutting-edge research around the university. Donors have contributed $222 million to support faculty across a range of disciplines, including the newly established Don Harrison Chair in AI and Technology at the Faculty of Law, the Michael & Virginia Walsh Chair in History of Philosophy (the first endowed chair at the Department of Philosophy), and a chair in Jain Studies at the University of Toronto Mississauga (the first endowed chair in humanities at that campus). These prestigious positions help the university attract and retain top faculty from around the world who push the boundaries of knowledge, create opportunities for transformative learning, and develop innovative solutions to complex problems.
Defy Gravity continues to build on the university’s storied history of excellence through gifts that have established major new platforms in research and innovation, such as the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, where world-leading interdisciplinary experts are working to ensure AI is safe and aligned with human values; the Sam Ibrahim Centre for Inclusive Excellence in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Leadership, which will boost inclusive entrepreneurship and innovation in Scarborough and the Eastern GTA; the Tanenbaum Institute for Science in Sport, a global centre of excellence for high-performance sport science and sports medicine; and the Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health, the first hub for educating health professionals in Scarborough and the Eastern GTA, expected to open in 2026.
The Temerty Faculty of Medicine also received the largest single gift of its kind in Canadian history to support advances in human health and health care.
