Giving
Your gift can
change the world
When you give to The Grainger College of Engineering, you become a part of our bold vision for the future. Your investment allows us to deliver an outstanding engineering and computing education to brilliant students who learn from expert researchers and practitioners in state-of-the-art facilities. Grainger engineers improve the human condition and create a better world for everyone.
You can help us plan for the future while making a difference today. Gifts to our Grainger Engineering Priority Fund will provide vital, unrestricted support that allows the college to strategically invest in critical initiatives.
Together, we will...
Transform the student experience
Your generosity provides our students with the tools they need to succeed outside of the classroom and prepares them to take on the world's challenges. Contributions from our alumni and friends are essential to our ability to support our students, faculty and staff.
A few of the many ways your gift could be used to support Grainger engineers includes educator/advisor and research funding, scholarships and fellowships, and support of our learning spaces such as labs and centers.
Drive world-changing research
Your support is critical to our research initiatives that touch all aspects of human life, encompassing medical, atmospheric, cellular, acoustic, renewable energy, and robotic endeavors—among many more. This enriching academic experience fosters maximum growth for students and lays the foundation for strides in societal improvements.
Expand Access to Engineering Education and Research
You will help us develop our student pipeline, sustain our engagement through programming and community building, and elevate our societal impact. You can help us support scholarship, innovation and leadership through opportunity, collaboration and community at all levels: faculty, staff, students, and K-12 outreach and public engagement.
Your gifts make a difference
Your contributions ensure we remain a leader in engineering education, discovery, innovation, entrepreneurship and sustained excellence. Choose how you want to support The Grainger College of Engineering.
Grainger Engineering Stories
Big challenges. Bold solutions. See how Grainger engineers are shaping tomorrow's world.
Following their North Star: Illini-founded company revolutionizing sepsis care
- Engineering News
- April 23, 2026
Grainger Engineering honors six exceptional alumni leaders for their distinguished service
- Engineering News
- April 22, 2026
ECE Receives Gift For First Named Lecture Series in Emerging Technologies
- Engineering News
- April 16, 2026
Illinois Alumni Make Global Innovation Waves
- Engineering News
- October 24, 2025
Illinois alum, entrepreneur and philanthropist Vilas Dhar Visits the College
- Engineering News
- April 18, 2025
In memoriam: Donald L. Bitzer, father of PLATO
- Engineering News
- December 20, 2024
Engineering Visionary Scholarships
You can turn dreams into realities and passions into possibilities! Engineering Visionary Scholarships (EVS) gives highly qualified students access to a world-class engineering education. Every year, hundreds of students become Grainger Engineers because of donor support to EVS.
EVS Facts:
- Gifts to EVS of all sizes are pooled and endowed, maximizing our ability to flexibly distribute ample scholarship awards year after year.
- More than half of EVS gifts are $100 or less – proving every gift can transform the student experience.
- The EVS fund will continue to grow into perpetuity, enabling Grainger Engineering to remain competitive and allowing the college to flexibly respond to students' needs.
Your generosity directly supports our students and impacts our ability to recruit and retain the most promising engineers, scientists, physicians, business leaders, and problem-solvers.
Systems Engineering, 2021
Engineering Visionary Scholarship RecipientReceiving this scholarship inspires me to pay it forward. In the future I hope to create a non-profit organization and help bring advancing technologies to low-income community schools.
Civil Engineering, 2021
Engineering Visionary Scholarship RecipientI really appreciate my scholarship support because it gives me the opportunity and motivation to work harder on how transportation systems can be reimagined in the future. My dream job is to work on transportation projects and have the opportunity to use sustainable and green infrastructure at every point possible.
Mechanical Engineering, 2021
Engineering Visionary Scholarship RecipientNot only did [the scholarship] allow me to attend one of the nation's top engineering programs for significantly less than other schools, but it made me feel like Grainger Engineering really wanted me and everything I could offer.
Materials Science and Engineering, 2021
Engineering Visionary Scholarship RecipientI wanted to become an engineer to help develop solutions to our climate crisis. I chose materials science so that I can be at the forefront of research pertaining to advanced energy technology such as hybrid and organic solar cells.
Grainger Engineer, 2021
Engineering Visionary Scholarship RecipientI wanted to become an engineer simply because I wanted to help the world. Engineers are the ultimate agents of help through science and technology and I thought this was the coolest thing ever.
Grainger Engineer, 2020
Engineering Visionary Scholarship AlumnaMy scholarship helped fund my international travel to Uganda, which incited my passion for global energy access and has led me to pursue a career focused on distributed energy resources and microgrids.
Grainger Engineer, 2020
Engineering Visionary Scholarship RecipientHaving my tuition partially taken care of has been a great relief from the stress we have been living in. With all the stresses my family has been dealing with, this is one area that we don't have to worry about.
The origin of the name
The Grainger College of Engineering
The Grainger College of Engineering was named in 2019 in recognition of more than $300 million in total support from The Grainger Foundation and in honor of distinguished alumnus William W. Grainger. At the time of the naming, The Grainger Foundation contributions represented the largest amount ever given to a public university to name a college of engineering.
The long-term, flexible support of The Grainger Foundation allows Grainger Engineering to grow our research enterprise and enhance educational programs. We can attract and retain the very best faculty with more and larger faculty chairs and professorships, and increase access as we recruit the brightest and best students.