UMD Raises Over $1.6M on Seventh Annual Giving Day

The University of Maryland raised over $1.6 million on its seventh annual Giving Day. Held on March 4, the 24-hour giving challenge raised money to support the university’s core missions, which include learning, teaching, research, the arts, student life, and public service initiatives.

Donors were able to give to a wide variety of funds and programs dedicated to schools/colleges, athletics, libraries, performing arts and Greek and student organizations. Donors also had the option to support University funds, including the Keep Me Maryland Fund, UMD Student Crisis Fund, and the Student Success Emergency Scholarship.

Athletics led donations with a fundraising total nearly reaching $283,000, followed by the Office of Undergraduate Studies and the School of Public Health with totals of more than $100,000 and $93,000 respectively.

Throughout the day, there were several opportunities for donors to have their donations matched. When donors gave to the Clark Challenge for the Maryland Promise, a need-based scholarship program for undergraduate students from underserved populations in the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia, gifts were matched dollar for dollar by the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation and the University of Maryland. President and Mrs. Loh additionally made a contribution, providing a $10,000 match for all student donations. Similarly, the Clarvit Family, comprised of two generations of Terps, helped match gifts from students, recent graduates, and first-time alumni donors as well as donations made towards emergency scholarship funds, up to a total of $10,000.

In addition to matching opportunities and leaderboard challenges, the Testudo Shellfie Challenge returned to help encourage the UMD community to take a selfie in order to raise money for the fund of their choice. By posting a selfie on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #GivingDayUMD, participants entered the fund they support for one of ten prizes.

Winners of these prizes included the Graduate School, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Mighty Sound of Maryland and the Air Force ROTC.

Since its launch in 2013, UMD Giving Day has raised more than $8 million from the UMD community.