The Development and Alumni Relations Office has just completed its annual spring phonathon, raising £84,300 in pledges and donations from Sussex graduates.
A team of 30 student callers worked every evening for five weeks over February and March, speaking to 1,800 alumni.
The total combined income into the Sussex Fund from this and last autumn's phonathon is £166,300 - an increase of more than £40,000 on the academic year 2009-10.
The Sussex Fund enables the University to provide support to students who find themselves in unexpected financial difficulties.
The Fund also offers scholarships to attract the brightest brains worldwide and has, for example, supported activities to enrich the student experience on campus, such as the Junior Research Associate (JRA) bursaries and the Learning to Lead programme.
Annual Fund Officer Declan Rainey said: "We are always heartened by the generosity of our alumni. Their support ranges from donations and pledges to offers of careers advice and even facilitating internships for students."