The University of Mary Washington will hold its second annual giving day on Tuesday, March 20.
During Mary Wash Giving Day, donors can make gifts at givingday.umw.edu from midnight through 11:59 p.m. Gifts received during this time will celebrate the UMW spirit of giving back and help fill the gap—since funding from the Commonwealth of Virginia accounts for just 25% of the University’s operating budget. Private support from the Mary Washington community is essential to providing an outstanding liberal arts education for UMW’s 4,000 students. Challenges and matches funded by generous donors will be “unlocked” throughout the day, doubling our impact.
Of UMW’s 38,000 alumni, nearly one-third are graduates of the last decade, and their participation in giving is key to sustaining and strengthening the University’s tradition of excellence. One objective of Mary Wash Giving Day is to inspire these young Eagles to give back to the University, continuing a longstanding alumni tradition of paying it forward to the next generation of students.
This year’s theme, “What can you do in a day?” asks alumni both what they can do because UMW exists and how the donation they make within this special 24-hour period can impact the future of our institution, benefit students and build a high-quality liberal arts foundation.
Last year, 1,090 donors made 1,218 gifts totaling $217,255 during the University’s first giving day. This year, the University has set a Giving Day goal of 1,908 gifts. The number is significant in the University’s history as it was founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women. Each individual’s participation, not the amount of their gift, matters most. Donors will be able to make online gifts in support of one or several areas of the University. These 11 areas of support will be highlighted:
- Fund for Mary Washington (the University’s largest source of unrestricted support)
- UMW Athletics
- Campus Recreation
- College of Arts and Sciences
- College of Business
- College of Education
- UMW Galleries
- UMW Libraries
- Gari Melchers Home and Studio
- James Monroe Museum
- UMW Theatre
At givingday.umw.edu, donors will be able to keep track of the day’s progress via a dynamic leaderboard, share their donations on social media and send emails encouraging friends to give. Alumni and other passionate Mary Washington supporters who would like to serve as #MaryWashDay social media ambassadors can sign up on the Ambassadors page of the site. More information about the day can be found on the FAQs page.
Did you know? Data shows that when you post on social, you inspire three more people to give. Download the Mary Wash Giving Day graphic and share it on social media to help UMW spread the word.