The University raised $2,827,506 during its 24-hour GivingToHoosDay fundraiser on Wednesday. This is an increase from last year’s total, which saw over $2.1 million raised for various schools and programs across Grounds.
“Really what it’s all about is coming together for 24 hours with alumni, parents and other friends,” said Patrick Stanley, manager of digital strategy at the Office of Engagement and University Annual Giving. “It’s finding something you’re passionate about, supporting that area and seeing how that area flourishes sort of through thousands of us coming together to support our favorite places at the University.”
Donors could give to specific schools or programs, such as the College of Arts and Sciences or Madison House. Schools competed to win the largest portion of a $40,000 prize in each of the Dollars and Gifts Contests, based on the portion of dollars or gifts they contributed to the whole. Each school or program was then sponsored by a match grant that matched donations up to a certain dollar amount. This year, University President Teresa Sullivan also offered a $100,000 challenge fund to schools.
Although these challenges provided exciting incentives to donors, Deke Shrum, director of advancement communications, emphasized the focus on togetherness and awareness of various programs rather than a strict monetary amount.
“There are so many disparate talents working across the Grounds on so many important fronts,” Shrum said. “This is a wonderful opportunity to come together on a single day and acknowledge the drive and the passion, [and] the generosity of our community.”
Stanley said the Office of Engagement and University Annual Giving hoped website changes would bring even more attention to the day in its second year. One added feature was a challenge encouraging donors to be the first from their home state or country to donate and appear on an interactive map.
A major change was giving each fund an individual webpage, Stanley said.
“You might want to make a gift to the College, [but] coming through the website you might also find the Gordie Center or the Women’s Center or some other area that you may not have known as much about that you have the opportunity to learn about and decide whether or not you want to support them as well,” Stanley said.
According to Jenny Weatherholtz, director of Alumni Engagement at the Engineering School, part of the success of GivingToHoosDay comes from the freedom it gives donors to select a specific area to support with their donation.
“The cool thing ... is our donors can give to any area that speaks to them — it could be the school at large, it could be their department, their favorite student organization, a lab,” Weatherholtz said. “We want people to give to an area of impact that they loved when they were here as students.”
When donors gave to the Engineering school, for example, they could choose one of these specific areas or donate to the school as a whole.
For fourth-year College student Sandy Hoang, funds raised by GivingToHoosDay have helped fund her undergraduate research project on stem cells, which led her to receive a position in the National Institutes of Health post-graduation.
“To me, GivingToHoosDay means offering students the ability to pursue extracurricular activities and opportunities beyond what he or she can personally contribute to the university,” Hoang said in an email to the Cavalier Daily. “[It provided] the funding for my biology research project by the Harrison Undergraduate Research Award.”
At the Nursing School, the event was connected to National Nurses Week, which takes place May 6-12. Donors who gave on GivingToHoosDay could choose to recognize a nurse in their life, which many families and past patients did as a way of honoring those individuals.
“When you honor someone during National Nurses Week they get a personalized letter from the dean, and it can include a message from their person who is honoring them,” said Nicole Thomas, associate director of Annual Giving and Engagement at the School of Nursing.
While each school had a unique purpose for their funds, the overarching theme of the day was connecting those who support the University. Whether this meant sharing photos of the event on social media, fourth-years donating to their class page or donors offering match grants, the event allows widespread participation.
“It’s the fact that we have alumni, parents and friends all over the world and we really want to show just how wide the University of Virginia’s reach is; that regardless of where you are, you’re connected to the community,” Stanley said.
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