The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee raised more than a quarter of a billion dollars in donations to support student scholarships, research, new buildings and community outreach, officials announced late Thursday.

Across seven years and 21,236 donors, the effort, dubbed "Made in Milwaukee, Shaping the World: The Campaign for UWM" is now the largest in the university's history.

The final total — $251,466,444 — is 25% more than the initial campaign goal. UWM hit the desired $200 million mark a year earlier than planned.

University staff and students are already seeing the impact of the campaign across the campus, from the launch of the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center and the Northwestern Data Science Institute to new learning and research spaces and $37 million for student scholarships. The university foundation's endowment will grow by $79 million.

Nearly half the gifts came from first-time donors. Alumni donated the highest percentage of the $251 million total: nearly $68 million. More than 20% of the money came from corporations, another 20% came from individuals, 17% from nonprofit organizations and 14% from foundations.

The university held a 300-person celebration with donors and staff Thursday night at the downtown UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena that included many of the more than 150 volunteers who helped run the campaign. The event included a dinner of foods that came from around Milwaukee, dancing and lots of confetti.

"It's very moving to see this level of support and recognition of the importance of UWM," Patricia Borger, vice chancellor for development and alumni relations, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "And we're really happy. It's really a deep gratitude, and great joy."

Contact Devi Shastri at 414-224-2193 or DAShastri@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @DeviShastri.