The countdown is on! Mary Wash Giving Day marks its fifth anniversary next week, and the entire University of Mary Washington community is invited to join the celebration.
Participation matters most in helping UMW reach its goal of 3,000 gifts and 500 first-time donors during the 24-hour event on Tuesday, April 5. This year’s theme, #TogetherUMW, reminds us that even though we may be spread out across the campus, country and continents, we share a common goal of supporting Mary Washington’s students and benefiting its programs and initiatives.
“It only takes five minutes of your day to make a gift that can help set up our students for success for years to come,” said Director of Annual Giving Shelby Orlando ’14. She praised the continued generosity of the Mary Washington community over the last five years, as student need grows and UMW adapts to an ever-changing world. “Making even a $5 gift on Giving Day can result in thousands of extra dollars for students.”
With $150,000 in challenges and matches waiting to be unlocked at givingday.umw.edu, every donation has the potential of doubling and even tripling its impact. All who care about Mary Washington and its mission can provide additional funding for students by helping to meet participation benchmarks throughout the day:
- 1,000 gifts by noon will unlock $3,000 from Susan B. Leavitt ’83
- 1,908 gifts – paying homage to Mary Washington’s founding year – by 5 p.m. will unlock $5,000 from Lynda White ’71
- 3,000 gifts by 11:59 p.m. will unlock $10,000 from an anonymous alum
- 50-State Challenge: Betty Orr White ’68, who says “aloha!” from Hawaii, will make a $2,500 gift if UMW receives at least one donation from every state
- 50 Gifts for 50 Years Challenge: If 50 members of the Class of 1972 donate, Philo Funk Rosenfeld ’72 and Marty Abbott ’72 will unlock a $20,000 gift
- Young Alumni and First-Time Donor Challenges total over $6,000
- The UMW Alumni Association will match all gifts to the Cedric B. Rucker ’81 S.O.S. Endowment Fund up to $5,000 in honor of the longtime dean of students’ impending retirement
In addition, a Devil-Goat contest will commemorate a unique UMW tradition, encouraging friendly competition between odd- and even-year graduates. Several Mary Washington alums have issued challenges and matches to inspire gifts from fellow Eagles who graduated the same year or decade. The classes of ’70, ’71 and ’72 – all celebrating their 50th in June – will compete for a reward of a champagne toast at Reunion Weekend. And all throughout the day, dynamic leaderboards will track progress and add to the excitement.
Nearly 150 Giving Day ambassadors, including alumni, students, faculty, staff, parents and friends of UMW, have signed up online to receive a unique referral link and digital tool kit to help spread the word on social media and prompt others to participate. Data shows that each ambassador post inspires three additional gifts.
The Mary Washington Alumni Association will once again include four-legged friends in the fun, providing free, newly designed pet bandanas to alums, who are asked to share photos of their furry family members and tag social media posts on Giving Day with #TogetherUMW and @UMWAlumni. Order yours today at alumni.umw.edu/pets2022.
On the Mary Wash Giving Day donor wall, supporters will have the option of spotlighting their names and gifts, or remaining anonymous. Contributions can be made online, over the phone or in person toward the Fund for Mary Washington, academics, arts and cultural programs, athletics, diversity and inclusion initiatives, campus preservation projects and much more.
Dedicating just five minutes, just $5, on the fifth annual Mary Wash Giving Day on April 5 can help secure the future of UMW students: #TogetherUMW.
Learn more by visiting the Mary Wash Giving Day FAQ page or by contacting Director of Annual Giving Shelby Orlando at sorlando@umw.edu or 540-654-1361.
