Fifth Annual Giving Day Brings UMW Community Together, April 5

Conducting trailblazing research. Creating and performing meaningful works of art. Competing on athletic teams. Exploring a new culture. Making a difference on campus and in the community.

These are all familiar hallmarks of the University of Mary Washington experience. On Tuesday, April 5, the entire UMW community – alumni, students, faculty, staff, parents and friends – is invited to join together in celebration of the fifth annual Mary Wash Giving Day. The highly anticipated event connects all who love Mary Washington – on campus, throughout the country and around the world – folks who are working together to guarantee that students continue to reap the benefits of a Mary Washington education for years to come.

This year’s theme, #TogetherUMW, reminds us of what can be accomplished when we unite for a common purpose: To support students by funding academic, athletic, arts, service, career and cultural programs. UMW’s goal – 3,000 gifts during the 24-hour event, including 500 from first-time contributors – will strengthen the student experience and shape future generations of leaders, creators and problem-solvers from Mary Washington.

Class challenges, as well as a “Devil-Goat” themed contest, will encourage friendly competition, while matches funded by generous donors will be “unlocked” during certain time periods, doubling and even tripling the impact of each gift. Dynamic leaderboards will help track progress in real time, building momentum and excitement throughout the day.

“It’s a huge display of our Mary Washington pride and supports the amazing efforts of our students, faculty and staff,” said Director of Annual Giving Shelby Orlando ’14. UMW has benefited from strong private support for more than a century, she said, and Giving Day donations have been more essential than ever before, providing a much-needed boost for UMW programs.

On the Mary Wash Giving Day website, donors will be able to directly support students through the General Scholarship Fund and the Technology Assistance Fund, or address the University’s most pressing needs through the Fund for Mary Washington. Gifts will help strengthen diversity and inclusion initiatives and bolster campus preservation, student clubs and organizations, and other areas that make UMW a unique place to live, grow and study.

Your Mary Wash Giving Day contributions can help undergraduate students engage in trailblazing research alongside UMW faculty members. To continue and grow support for student learning opportunities, the College of Arts and Sciences aims to build a $1 million endowed fund – Beyond the Classroom: An Endowment for Student Research and Learning.

When you give to the Friends of Athletics or to a specific sports program on Mary Wash Giving Day, you are providing critical funding to enhance the UMW student-athlete experience. Your gifts contribute to recruitment and professional development opportunities, athletic facilities, long-distance travel, custom-training equipment and much more.

UMW’s arts and cultural programs explore the profound beauty of the human experience. On Mary Wash Giving Day, you can support the academic work happening in Mary Washington classrooms, studios and performance spaces, as well as the UMW Philharmonic, UMW Galleries, Gari Melchers Home & Studio, the James Monroe Museum and the Great Lives lecture series.

Service, volunteering, activism and advocacy work, and community and civic engagement teach UMW students about the world around them, help them explore career choices, take on leadership roles and make a difference on campus and in the community. Your Mary Wash Giving Day contributions help support COAR, the James Farmer Multicultural Center and other campus entities that provide valuable and meaningful experiences to students.

On Mary Wash Giving Day, your gifts support high-impact learning experiences such as a recent spring break study abroad trip that Professor of Biology Andrew Dolby led to the Galapagos Islands. UMW students explored one of the most biodiverse places on the planet during the weeklong excursion, where they researched flora and fauna, snorkeled and hiked, and visited museums and research institutes.

In addition to making gifts of any amount, members of the Mary Washington community are invited to inspire others to contribute by becoming Giving Day Ambassadors. Anyone can sign up at givingday.umw.edu to receive access to a custom dashboard and toolkit. Once again, the UMW Alumni Association will provide free UMW-branded pet bandanas. Alumni can request them through an online form, and those who receive them are asked to tag photos of their animal friends with #MaryWashDay and #UMWAlumni.

More information on Mary Wash Giving Day can be found on the FAQ page.