UMW felt the love yesterday … in a big way!
Mary Wash Giving Day marked the single largest day of giving in UMW history, bringing in a total of $426,866.*
All day long generous donors showed their love for Mary Washington, making more than 2,600 gifts in just 24 hours. The second annual online-giving event allowed supporters to contribute to all things Mary Wash – from athletics to theatre, from the College of Arts and Sciences to the College of Education, from UMW Galleries to Gari Melchers Home and Studio. Each gift helps ensure a strong future for the University and for its students.
Even with a heaping helping of snow in the forecast, donors smashed this year’s goal of 1,908 gifts, in honor of the University’s founding year, well before the midnight deadline, illustrating just how deep Eagle pride runs. A real-time online gift tracker showed the climbing donation tally, with higher and higher numbers sliding into place throughout the day and into the night. Alumni, professors, deans, students, staff, community members and more got in on the act, meeting challenge after challenge to unlock matching and additional funds.
“What a day!” Director of Annual Giving Beth Hunsinger wrote on the event website. “Thank you for … making a huge difference for UMW students and programs.”
The University Center, serving as the on-campus Giving Day headquarters, bustled with activity, including a donation station, food, games and giveaways, even a photo booth with Sammy D. Eagle. Social media lit up all day long, as UMW supporters went wild with tags, shares and likes for posts and tweets that included the #MaryWashDay hashtag.
President Troy D. Paino did his part to drum up support for the cause, starring in Paino’s Day Out, a video that illustrated this year’s theme “What can you do in a day?” and drew 449 shares and more than 19,000 likes. When UMW Campus Recreation received 100 gifts, Paino proudly pumped out his promised 100 push-ups. The Dean Rucker Celebrity Call-in Event had alumni phoning in gifts to the beloved administrator. Interim Dean of the College of Business Ken Machande promised a $5 donation for each $10 gift from a UMW student to the College of Business. And these are just a few of the many pledges that spurred on donations and increased their value.
Proud alumni turned out to celebrate the day’s success at evening network events in Fredericksburg, Richmond, Charlottesville and Washington, D.C. By midnight, donors had more than doubled last year’s tally of 1,218 gifts and come close to doubling its $217,000 donation total.
*Current figures are preliminary. Catch a video recap of the day’s events.