Major fundraising from the UW athletic department continues to funnel dollars to school programs, despite performances during the previous athletic season.

The University of Washington raises money in a variety of ways. Researchers at the UW bring in money through government grants and contracts for their research projects. Non-government entities and private donors also give money to the University.

University fundraising has been successful despite the UW’s recent lackluster sports seasons, netting more than $2.5 billion in donations through the “Campaign UW: Creating Futures,” said Connie Kravas, vice president for development and alumni relations at the UW Development Office.

The number of annual donors to the UW has doubled from about 51,000 in 2000 to more than 105,000 in 2007. More than 246,000 individuals have invested in the University since the program began.

Athletics fundraising exists for projects such as the golf facility, capital projects and endowments, like Students First, said Jennifer Cohen, associate athletic director of major gifts to the UW Intercollegiate Athletics Program. The University defines a major gift as anything more than $50,000.

Students First is an endowed scholarship program that matches contributions from donors, offering a 50 percent match on qualifying gifts targeted for undergraduate scholarships or graduate fellowships.

UW men’s basketball player Brandon Roy is the student spokesperson for the program.

“Athletics is leading the campus in fundraising [toward Students First],” said Scott Woodward, interim athletic director at the UW.

Most of the donations for athletics come from the Tyee program, which provides priority seating for basketball, football and volleyball, Cohen said.

“The way it works is a donor gives a per-seat contribution each year,” she said. “About $5.9 million is raised through the program each year.”

The UW athletics Web site describes the Tyee program as “the lifeblood of Husky athletics.”

“Another way … [UW]Athletics raise money is through the Don James Center,” Cohen said. “It provides outdoor seating and whoever purchases it does so for five years. Because people have to pay $5,000 upfront in contributions for the seating, every five years, we will see a spike in contributions.”

The Don James Center opened up for new donors this year.

Kravas said both UW alumni and local residents that aren’t alumni give about equally to the UW, with slightly more alumni giving.

“This is [the case] across the University — in academics, as well as sports,” she said.

[Reach reporter Chris Paredes at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]