As a Cal Fund donor, you are part of a vibrant community of 6,086 individuals and families who came together last fiscal year to contribute $4.3 million to the Cal Fund and Cal Parents Fund. Your generosity helps Berkeley uphold its excellence in teaching, research, and public service by supporting students and faculty across campus. These gifts are put to immediate use to meet Berkeley’s greatest needs, at a time when only 14 percent of the university’s overall funding comes from the State of California. Over the past five years, donors like you have invested $19.7 million in these funds, strengthening student-focused programs and initiatives across campus. Your care for students, faculty, and the campus community embodies the collective spirit that makes Berkeley extraordinary, and we are deeply grateful.

Below are highlights from a few key programs where you made meaningful impact in the past year.

Building Belonging at Berkeley

For more than a decade, Berkeley Connect has helped undergraduates flourish by welcoming them into small cohorts that share a semester of one-on-one mentoring, small-group discussions, field trips, and alumni panels. Each year, more than 2,000 undergraduate students participate in the program, gaining confidence, building lasting connections, and clarifying their academic and career goals.

Research shows the program is making a measurable difference: Undergraduate participants report feeling more connected and confident navigating campus life and planning for the future. Most importantly, they leave with a stronger sense of belonging and a clearer vision for what comes next. Your generosity ensures students do not simply survive at Berkeley — they thrive.

enhancing the college journey of countless students

Here’s what one student says of her experience:

“Berkeley Connect opened my eyes to the wide variety of resources available at Cal and helped me gain confidence in how to access them — whether it's attending office hours, exploring BAMPFA, or searching for a research opportunity through the Discovery Hub. The intimate small-group setting helped me realize other students were in the same boat as me, feeling both nervous and excited as we began our first year at Berkeley. Our grad student mentor helped create a comfortable, supportive learning environment.”

A Personalized Path to Hands-On Learning and Innovation

Berkeley Discovery helps undergraduates find their passions and apply their learning through real-world experiences. In a university as large and dynamic as Berkeley, Discovery ensures students receive the guidance and opportunities they need to build an educational path as unique as they are. This past year, the initiative empowered more than 19,000 students by expanding access to high-impact, hands-on, and interdisciplinary learning experiences — preparing them to thrive in complex careers, including those emerging in the age of AI.

The initiative achieves this through three core resources:

• Discovery Opportunities Database (The Finder): A centralized database that connects students with research positions, scholarships, internships, study abroad programs, and public service opportunities at Berkeley and with organizations worldwide.
• Discovery Hubs (The Real-World Labs): A structured learning environment where students work on real-world projects with guidance and clear goals. Discovery Hubs connect students with projects led by graduate students or professional researchers, on campus or with external partners. Undergraduates can take on leadership roles — applying for funding, managing teams, and mentoring peers — gaining hands-on experience in research and project management.
• Discovery Supported Courses (The Hands-On Classroom): Undergraduate courses redesigned in collaboration with academic departments to include hands-on, inclusive, and discovery-based learning. These courses give students practical, engaging experiences that deepen understanding and build skills. These innovations have reached over 9,600 students, helping them achieve higher GPAs and develop a stronger sense of belonging in their fields.

Berkeley Discovery helps students create a personal, empowering journey, enabling them to chart their own path to success.

Equipping Students to Shape Their Career Paths

Berkeley Career Engagement (BCE) helps students explore career paths aligned with their values, strengths, and goals. Over the past year, BCE provided free one-on-one career counseling to more than 10,000 students, hosted 18 career fairs with hundreds of employers, and offered workshops that reached over 13,000 students. BCE helps students shadow alumni in the workplace, navigate graduate and professional school admissions, secure internship housing, negotiate job offers, and more.

To promote equitable access to professional resources, BCE offers the Iris Photo Booth, providing all students with free, high-quality professional head shots. Since its installation, more than 2,500 students have taken advantage of this resource.

“Berkeley Career Engagement has made it easy to reach out with questions about my plans after graduation, which has become increasingly important as a junior. Participating in BCE's Job Shadow Program, my options in law are broader than I expected. I can be in so many roles that I didn't know existed. It’s reassuring to know I have BCE's support both during and after college.” — Citlaly Espino, Cal Job Shadow participant

Your gift to the Cal Fund in 2024–25 also provided:

• Scholarships: Scholarships supporting student-athletes in their academic and athletic pursuits, as well as students with financial need pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
• Academic Empowerment: Free, comprehensive academic support through the Student Learning Center, serving over a quarter of all undergraduates and two-thirds of new students each year. Services include course-specific tutoring, drop-in help, workshops, and seminars that build essential skills — study, research, writing, critical thinking, and time management — helping students thrive at a top university.