{"id":29767,"date":"2026-08-26T09:58:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T13:58:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/?p=29767"},"modified":"2026-08-26T09:40:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T13:40:14","slug":"foundation-announces-gifts-fy-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/foundation-announces-gifts-fy-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Marshall University Foundation raises $35.9 million in fiscal year 2026, announces new board members"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Marshall University Foundation has announced its year-end totals for fiscal year 2026 with $35.9 million in new gifts and commitments.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarshall\u2019s momentum continues to grow because people believe in where our university is headed and in the opportunities we are creating for our students,\u201d said Brad D. Smith, president of Marshall University. \u201cThis level of support is a powerful vote of confidence in Marshall and an important investment in the future of our students and the communities we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

The total number of donors for fiscal year 2026 was 3,665 including 2,176 alumni donors. Of the total, 953 were new donors.<\/p>\n

\u201cNearly $36 million in gifts and commitments is a tremendous reflection of the generosity of Marshall\u2019s alumni, donors and friends,\u201d said Nico Karagosian, president and CEO of the Marshall University Foundation. \u201cIt is especially encouraging to see more people choosing to support Marshall. That matters tremendously, and I am incredibly grateful to everyone who invested in our students and in Marshall\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to these commitments, the Foundation\u2019s engagement efforts highlighted the power of collective giving. The fifth annual Day of Giving: 1837 Minutes for Marshall united the community for 30 hours of storytelling and philanthropy, generating a record $431,611.<\/p>\n

Funds raised by the Foundation support scholarships, endowed positions, research and capital projects, while strengthening the university\u2019s endowment and long-term financial health.<\/p>\n

In July, at the start of the new fiscal year, the Foundation welcomed three new members to its board of directors \u2014 Dianna Canfield, Allen Hager and Bill Leith.<\/p>\n

\u201cDianna, Allen and Bill are exceptional Marshall alumni who have gone on to build impressive careers and make meaningful contributions in their respective fields,\u201d Karagosian said. \u201cWe are thrilled to welcome them to our board of directors and look forward to the experience and passion they will bring to their service.\u201d<\/p>\n

Canfield is an attorney with more than 35 years of practical experience who recently retired from the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. She has served on the Society of Yeager Scholars board since fall 2020. Canfield earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in criminal justice in 1984, and her J.D. from California Western School of Law in 1987.<\/p>\n

Hager founded Right at Home in 1995. Right at Home offers specially trained care staff who assist seniors and adults with disabilities to improve their quality of life right in their own homes. Today, Right at Home has grown to more than 600 locations across the United States and internationally. Hager graduated from Marshall with a bachelor’s degree in international affairs in 1980. He received an MBA in 1984 from Tulane University. In 2024, he gave $1 million toward the Marshall For All program.<\/p>\n

Leith graduated in 1969 with a degree in business management. He founded SupplyOne in 1998, combining family-owned businesses to create a national packaging manufacturing and distribution network. Today, the company operates in the U.S. and Canada with 60 locations, with Leith serving as the executive chairman. Earlier this year, he and his wife, Lois, gave $500,000 toward the Lewis College of Business.<\/p>\n

For more information about the Marshall University Foundation and its impact, visit formarshallu.org<\/a> or marshall.edu<\/a>.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Marshall University Foundation has announced its year-end totals for fiscal year 2026 with $35.9 million in new gifts and commitments. \u201cMarshall\u2019s momentum continues to grow because people believe in where our university is headed and in the opportunities we are creating for our students,\u201d said Brad D. Smith, president of Marshall University. \u201cThis level […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":945,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,86],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni","category-marshall-university-foundation"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/945"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29767"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29772,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29767\/revisions\/29772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}