Purdue boasts a record-breaking year: Nearly 82,600 people gave $332 million

Nearly 82,600 people gave to the institution during the 2016 fiscal year that ended June 30, bringing the total raised last year to $332 million. That amount includes a record $70.3 million donated for student support.

About 80 percent of student support dollars will go toward undergraduate scholarships, said Amy Noah, Purdue vice president for development.

"We want to be able to offer as much scholarship dollars as possible," she said. "It helps us to be more attractive to some students who might find there’s a financial burden or hardship to come to Purdue."

More than 29,000 undergraduate students across all campuses had support from scholarships or aid in the 2015 fiscal year thanks to a culmination of funding over the years, Noah said.

Donations came in droves on Purdue Day of Giving in April, adding $18.3 million toward the university's $2.019 billion "Ever True" fundraising goal that ends in 2019. The campaign has surpassed its half-way mark and sat at $1.16 billion at the end of June.