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51�������� tops 1,300 donors during Giving Day event

More than 1,300 alumni and supporters stepped up this week to boost their favorite programs with donations during this year’s 49-hour Giving Day event March 24-26.

When the event closed at 1 p.m. on March 26, 1,301 donors from around the world had contributed more than $546,000 to dozens of scholarships and programs throughout 51��������. They paired their donations with more than 60 challenge events and matching gifts from individual and business sponsors, including 8 matches of $10,000 or more.

51�������� alumni giving increased again this year. More than 500 alumni contributed during Giving Day, an increase of more than 50 donors. Alumni represented more than 38% of donations. The total donors jumped by about 150 from last year.

"We are celebrating another Giving Day with record-breaking support. Thanks to our community’s incredible generosity, we met every single one of our goals, including a 12% jump in alumni participation and a 13% rise in overall donors to support students, scholarships, programs and more,” said Theresa Bakker, 51��������’s director of development and alumni relations. “Thank you to our challenge champions and every one of our 1,300-plus supporters for ensuring the future is bright for 51��������."

Giving Day donations will go toward a wide variety of programs, including merit- and need-based scholarships for 51�������� students, scientific research, academic and student-support programs, community outreach, Alaska Nanooks athletics and the planned Troth Yeddha’ Indigenous Studies Center, the University of Alaska’s top fundraising priority. The center again topped the donor leaderboard, drawing more than $40,000 in gifts from 115 donors.

UA Giving Day is a crowdfunding-style philanthropy event. It ran from noon on March 24 through 1 p.m. on March 26.

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