The University of Wyoming urges people to use the “Power of 10” on UW Giving Day (www.uwyo.edu/givingday), the 10th anniversary of this annual celebration of philanthropy.
“Thank you — on behalf of the University of Wyoming and the UW Foundation — for supporting your university on UW Giving Day,” says Doug Stark, chair of the UW Foundation Board. “One person supporting the next generation is a great thing, but thousands of people coming together over 24 hours to support our shared future is truly amazing. It’s the power of 10 personified.”
UW Giving Day is Wednesday-Thursday, Oct. 23-24, noon to noon. UW supporters can rally together and support the students of today and tomorrow by giving to campaigns of UW units, programs, colleges and student-led organizations.
Donors can give at www.uwyo.edu/givingday and support the effort on social media with the hashtags #uwgivingday and #thepowerof10.
“It is so gratifying to see people across Wyoming and across the world come together to support the University of Wyoming,” says John Stark, president and CEO of the UW Foundation. “UW Giving Day is the culmination of a lot of hard work — on the part of the UW Foundation, to be sure, but also by people across campus and, most of all, the hard-working donors who step up and support this great institution.”
UW Giving Day is UW’s annual day of giving spearheaded by the UW Foundation that takes place online and across campus. It has an immeasurable impact on UW students and the faculty, staff and programs that support them.
“I am so proud of the work that campus has done this year to prepare for Giving Day,” says Clancee Rea, UW Foundation director of annual giving and the Donor Experience Program. “I have no doubt that everyone joining together — students, faculty and staff at UW and donors, alumni and friends around the world — will help achieve 10,000 donors for our 10th anniversary of Giving Day. A huge ‘thank you’ to all of our donors who come back year-over-year to make an impact at the University of Wyoming by supporting the areas they are most passionate about.”
There are more than 260 fundraising campaigns created by UW colleges, programs and organizations large and small. Leading up to UW Giving Day, programs from across UW can create campaigns to raise money for their areas. They create buzz, contact their alumni, help establish matching funds and create friendly competitions with other units on campus.
The event creates fundraising opportunities for small student-led organizations that otherwise wouldn’t participate in a campaign of this size. On UW Giving Day, every gift makes a difference.
This year, $1.3 million is available in matching and challenge funds, which allow donors to increase the impact of their giving. Most of these will go live at noon Wednesday, the beginning of UW Giving Day. Donors should be aware that, in previous years, these matching and challenge funds have gone quickly, so they are encouraged to plan ahead.
Matching funds are funds used to double the impact of a gift. For example, if a donor gives $100 to a program that is eligible for a match, the gift will be matched with an additional $100, meaning $200 overall goes to support that program.
Challenges are similar but generally are based on the number of donors. Once a threshold is reached, the fund is unlocked. For example, a challenge may be set up to unlock a fund once a program has 100 donors. Once 100 donors have given any amount to a program, the fund is unlocked.
Matches include a total of $360,000 in matching from the UW Foundation Board; a $250,000 match from the UW Board of Trustees; $30,000 for President Ed Seidel’s UW Faculty and Staff Match; and the $20,000 Power of 10 Match. There also will be a surprise match, so stay tuned for that.
Challenges include $30,000 for the Big Giving Day Challenge; $15,000 for the Student Organizations Challenge; $15,000 for the Club Sports Challenge; $15,000 for the Fraternity and Sorority Life Challenge; and $15,000 for the Athletics Challenge.
These matching and challenge funds make a big difference. For example, the winner of last year’s Overall Donor Challenge was Western Thunder Marching Band, with 616 donors. Funding for this award was provided by the UW Foundation Board. The band received a $6,000 prize for first place.
“We were honored to win the Overall Donor Challenge last year,” says Joe Carver, director of Western Thunder Marching Band. “A big ‘thank you’ to our supporters who continue to motivate us to be our best. We also could not have done it without the hard work of the students in the band. They give their time to make phone calls, texts and social media messages to round up support for great student experiences here at UW. Go Pokes!”
There are additional college- and unit-specific matching and challenge funds as well. (Go to www.uwyo.edu/givingday, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click over to matches and challenges to see a comprehensive list.)
Gifts of cryptocurrency also are accepted during UW Giving Day (www.uwyo.edu/givecrypto). UW was the first university to accept gifts of cryptocurrency, starting in 2018.
Last year, a record 8,978 donors gave during this annual celebration of philanthropy. In just 24 hours, $3.6 million was raised from a record-breaking 207 campaigns, which were created by units and student organizations across campus. More than $1 million was available in overall matching and challenge funds as well as 48 unit-specific matches and challenges. All matching funds were used up within minutes of going live.
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