North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Foundation, which raises and manages private gifts for the school, just completed a five-year fundraising campaign called Ignite+Transform that secured gifts and philanthropic commitments totaling $86 million from 8,400 donors. It appears to be the largest ever single campaign total for a public high school in the United States.

Barbara Coury, president of the NCSSM Foundation, led a small team of fundraising professionals and a large, energetic team of volunteers who partnered with the school’s administration to share the story of the campaign with potential donors throughout the state and nation. Coury was recognized for her efforts by the Triangle Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, who named her the 2025 Outstanding Fundraiser of the Year.

“I’m still sort of astounded by it all,” Coury says. “In the beginning, the goal was $25 million, which in itself was quite ambitious for a public high school. But as we talked to donors we saw that we could bump the goal up even more to $50 million. Even that didn’t satisfy the interest in the campaign, so we just kept going. The power of philanthropy, the power of people and the goodness in their hearts, is just so humbling.”

Henry Kuo, NCSSM Class of 1982, and Scott Ogle, NCSSM Class of 1993, were the campaign’s co-chairs. There was a tremendous amount of effort that went into the campaign, they both said, but convincing potential donors of its value was easy, thanks to the impact NCSSM has had on alumni and communities for more than 40 years.

“A campaign is as good as the product you’re representing,” Ogle says. “Every time I talk to an alum, they speak of the school with a passion and connection to the school that you very rarely see in the world today. They acknowledge how transformative the school was in their lives, and they recognize that that transformation was made possible by the state’s taxpayers, and by those who had donated during or prior to their arrival at the school.”

The funds raised by the campaign directly support NCSSM’s mission to advance the state, nation, and world by creating opportunities for broad access to exemplary public education that fosters, challenges, inspires, and empowers students and communities to design their future. Dollars are being allocated across the entire spectrum of NCSSM’s operations, from its tuition-free Residential programs in Durham and Morganton to infrastructure to virtual programs such as NCSSM Online and NCSSM Connect, and NCSSM summer academic experiences offered free of charge to students throughout North Carolina. Dollars have also been earmarked to enhance professional development courses for public schoolteachers in North Carolina who want to increase their skills in classrooms all across the state. 

Alumni played a pivotal role in the success of the campaign, donating approximately 46% of the $86 million committed, $64 million of which was pledged or given in cash. Donations ranged from one-time $5 contributions from the youngest graduates still gaining their footing in college to multi-million dollar gifts from alumni who came to NCSSM from rural, underserved parts of the state and leveraged the education they received at the school to build successful careers.

When NCSSM opened in 1980 as the first publicly funded, specialized residential high school in the nation, it was billed as both an educational laboratory and a resource for public instruction throughout the state. Faculty, staff, students, and administrators were encouraged to be innovative in curriculum development and delivery that, once refined, would be disseminated to North Carolina’s public schools.

Campaign co-chair Kuo says that commitment to public education still drives the school.

“So much has changed since I was a student, but what remains the same is the NCSSM experience,” he says. “When you put incredibly motivated students together with incredible faculty and staff, magic just happens. The campaign will allow us to spread that magic around to even more students and teachers in North Carolina.”

The amount of money raised will certainly elevate NCSSM’s abilities to deliver unparalleled services. But NCSSM does not sit upon a pedestal. The school is, and always has been, a school that welcomes students from every corner of the state — from small towns and large cities to farm fields and salt marshes — demonstrating the potential that exists in North Carolina’s young people in every single community.

“What better investment can one make than in our youth?” Ogle asks. “What better investment is there?”

“I think this is a significant turning point for NCSSM,” Kuo adds. “It’s all due to the generosity of our donors.”

Click here for a short film celebrating the Ignite+Transform campaign, and a message of thanks from NCSSM’s chancellor, Dr. Todd Roberts.

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