West Virginia University alumni and friends taking part in Day of Giving on Wednesday, March 20, will have many opportunities to boost the overall impact of their gifts through a variety of challenges.
The 24-hour fundraising event, organized by the WVU Foundation, is in its seventh year and encompasses the entire WVU System.
Since 2017, Day of Giving has raised $66 million for WVU from more than 28,000 gifts. Along with enhancing critical scholarship aid for students, Day of Giving supports the University’s greatest priorities and opportunities, as well as unrestricted funds at both the University and unit-specific levels.
Donors can unlock additional dollars for the areas of WVU that matter most to them by taking part in day-long and hourly challenges on Wednesday. Among the all-day challenges:
- The top three participating groups with the most faculty and staff gifts by the end of the day on March 20 win additional funding.
- The top three registered Day of Giving ambassadors who inspire the most gifts through their unique URL will win additional funding to their program/unit of choice.
- Three donors who share on social media why they made a gift on March 20 will be selected to receive additional funding for the unit they tag. Donors must select the share feature from the confirmation page after making their donation and use #WVUDayofGiving and #IGave.
Hourly challenges offer exciting opportunities to secure additional funds based on participation, dollar amount raised, social media engagement and more. Some of the highlights include:
- From midnight–1 a.m. ET, the top three participating groups with the most gifts during the day’s opening hour will win additional funding.
- From 9–10 a.m. ET, supporters can share their favorite campus photo on X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram to earn additional funding for the top three tagged campus units.
- From 10–11 a.m. ET, the top three participating groups with the most gifts from WVU alumni will win additional funding.
- From noon–1 p.m. ET, the top three participating groups with the most first-time donor gifts will win additional funding.
- From 4-5 p.m. ET, Mountaineer moms and dads can post pictures on social of their children in WVU gear. Three creative posts will be selected to earn additional funding for tagged units.
- From 7-8 p.m. ET, three of the most creative social posts featuring pets donning WVU gear will earn additional funding for tagged units.
- From 9-10 p.m. ET, the Country Roads Challenge calls for participants to record a video of themselves on social singing or performing “Country Roads” to help their favorite unit or program. Three of the most creative posts will be selected to earn additional funding for tagged units.
- From 11–midnight ET, the top three participating groups with the most gifts in the day’s final hour will win additional funding.
All social media posts must include #WVUDayofGiving. Supporters are encouraged to visit the WVU Day of Giving website for full instructions and a complete list of challenges – two pre-Day of Giving challenges are already under way.
Donations on Wednesday can be made online at dayofgiving.wvu.edu where participants can also stay updated on challenge winners, live leaderboards and the donor wall. Gifts of $5 or more are accepted throughout the day.
“Day of Giving is fueled by the unwavering support from the entire West Virginia University community,” said Kristen Shipp, WVU Foundation executive director of annual giving. “We encourage all of our alumni and friends to take part and make this another transformational day for the University.”