The University of Connecticut’s first annual 36-hour online fundraising marathon, UConn Gives, raised over $260,000 during its run from April 4-5, according to the fundraiser’s website. (Daily Campus file photo)
The University of Connecticut’s first annual 36-hour online fundraising marathon, UConn Gives, raised over $260,000 during its run from April 4-5, according to the fundraiser’s website.
UConn Gives received 2,441 gifts from donors, according to the website. Donors had the option to give to each of the five campuses as well as various programs and colleges within the university, such as the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), the study abroad program and the honors program.
CLAS raised $2,500 for the CLAS scholarship challenge, UConn marching and pep bands were awarded $750 and the overarching UConn scholarship challenge brought in $5,000, according to the website.
The different departments and programs held their own fundraisers alongside the general UConn Gives event as well, where the project that received the most funds earned additional rewards, according to the website.
The Natural Resources Conservation Academy came in first with 228 donations and received an extra $5,000 for their efforts, according to the website.The second place fundraisers, the UConn Law challenge, received 169 donations and an extra $3,000, while the third place fundraisers, CLAS, garnered 131 gifts and a bonus of $2,000.
The fundraiser also completed four match challenges, in which the money raised by donors became doubled, and three fundraising challenges, according to the website.
The UConn Law travel fund challenge had $2,000 matched and the Benton Museum challenge matched $1,544, according to the website. The Stamps scholarship program matched $935 and received another $375,000 donation from the Stamps Family Charitable Foundation.
Throughout the 36 hours of the fundraiser, a variety of online fundraising events geared toward UConn alumni were put forward, according to the website. The events asked participants to post a themed picture using a certain hashtag.
These events included the “Bleed Blue Work Crew Challenge,” where participants were asked to post a photo with fellow UConn alumni and coworkers, “Huskies at Heart,” which had pets dressed in UConn gear and “Fight Song to the Finish Line,” where alumni were asked to post a video of themselves singing UConn’s fight song, according to the website.
Alumni were encouraged to become UConn Gives ambassadors, according to the UConn Gives ambassadors website. Upon signing up, ambassadors received their own URL to track the money they raised, the number of donors they recruited and the results of their efforts.
Abby Brone is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at abigail.brone@uconn.edu.