Despite the ailing economy and recent cuts in state funding, cash is still flowing into WSU.

The university set a record for private fundraising during fiscal year 2008, which ended June 30, bringing in $143,692,185. In fiscal year 2007, the university received $92,048,976.

"It's record breaking and it's wonderful news for us," said Brenda Wilson-Hale, vice president for university development and chief executive officer of the WSU Foundation.

In March 2008, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provided the largest grant in WSU history. The $25 million grant will go toward the new School of Global Animal Health and its $35 million research facility.

More than 65,000 people donated to university during the year, a number Wilson-Hale said is slightly above last year.

"It has been inching up," she said. Though the fiscal year 2008 ended June 30, these numbers could not be released until now because they had to be verified multiple times, Wilson-Hale said. Of the $143,692,185 received, about $52 million came from gifts from alumni and supporters. The rest of the funds included about $23 million in private grants for research, about $32 million in pledged grants – which includes the grant from the Gates Foundation – and about $37 million in revocable gifts, which are guaranteed through trusts and wills, Wilson-Hale said.

Trevor Durham, director of communications with the WSU Foundation, said the foundation does not have many plans to change its fundraising strategies in wake of its successful year.

"When you have a good system in place, you just keep using it," he said. "Fundraising is as much art as it is science."

Wilson-Hale said though its hard to predict, the foundation is aiming for similar donations this year. She said in these hard economic times, increased private fundraising is imperative.

"This is truly a significant milestone for the university and we are indebted to all our generous alums, friends, foundations, corporations, faculty, staff and other supporters and benefactors," WSU President Elson S. Floyd said in a WSU news release. "This is a fabulous year as Washington State University continues to ramp up its fundraising efforts in the years ahead."