In the fourth annual Giving BlueDay held Tuesday, the University raised more than $4.4 million from over 8,000 donors, the highest in University history. The funds will go to student organizations, scholarships and programs across campus.
This year’s fundraiser, inspired by the nationwide campaign Giving Tuesday, was themed around the celebration of the University’s Bicentennial. 130 student organizations participated in the event. The University offered $150,000 in matching funds, the highest amount to date. The fundraiser was also advertised in Times Square.
Rather than focusing on increasing donation totals, Giving BlueDay aimed to highlight new donor participation. The organization sought to push donation as a democratic act through social media branding and national advocacy in philanthropy.
Live updates and “thank you” tweets from University-related accounts were featured on the fundraiser’s page, and students advertised their respective organizations via Facebook and other mediums. Some large donations included $50,000 to LSA and Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning by Jim and Shelley Bershof, and $100,000 to the George I. and Mary N. Haddad Graduate Fellowship Fund by Charles F. Krumm.
Last year, however, Giving BlueDay raised over $5.5 million.
LSA senior Daniel Harris, planning director for the student organization DMUM, was pleased in with how his group worked together to raise money for pediatric rehabilitation therapy at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. Before matching, the group raised over $50,000 for their cause.
“Giving BlueDay is one of my favorite days of the year,” Harris said. “Every year, Dance Marathon really rallies together as a team of all of our dancers and leadership body to really fundraise together…I’m really proud of how our team worked together. We really rallied around our cause.”