West Virginia University will hold its sixth Day of Giving March 22 as alumni, friends and students are invited to collectively make a difference and support the University’s land-grant mission.
Organized by the WVU Foundation, the 24-hour online fundraising event encourages members of the WVU community to support the areas of the University they care about most.
The funding benefits all areas of the University, including life-changing scholarships, health care, athletics, groundbreaking research and lasting improvements to campus.
“Every gift is transformational,” President Gordon Gee said. “I talk with students who tell me how a scholarship paved their path to West Virginia University and changed the trajectory of their life. I hear from faculty who received funding to further research that may one day improve all our lives. I see how the University thoughtfully employs donor support in communities across our state, and I am so grateful.”
In its first five years, WVU Day of Giving has raised just under $48 million on more than 20,000 gifts. The funding has helped provide critical private support to WVU during a challenging time around the globe.
The Foundation and University will again use email and social media to spread the word to alumni and supporters about the special day of giving. Donors will be able to easily make their donations online at dayofgiving.wvu.edu.
Hourly challenges will offer exciting opportunities to secure additional funds throughout the day based on participation, dollar amount raised, social media engagement and more. Participants will also be able to stay updated on challenge winners, live leaderboards and the donor wall.
Supporters can sign up to be a WVU Day of Giving ambassador, helping to create excitement before and during the campaign. The top five registered ambassadors who inspire the most gifts through their unique URL will receive a WVU swag box.
“We encourage the WVU community to join together March 22 to create a powerful, lasting impact that will strengthen the future of our University,” said Kristen Shipp, WVU Foundation executive director of annual giving. “As our Go above. Go Beyond. theme emphasizes, we truly see the overall power of collective giving from Mountaineer Nation come to life on this day each year.”
WVU Day of Giving is a University-wide event, including the main campus in Morgantown, WVU Health Sciences, WVU Medicine and the divisional campuses, including WVU Potomac State College in Keyser and WVU Institute of Technology in Beckley.
All gifts are made through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University.