Supporters Give Nearly $3.8M on UArizona Giving Day

Gain Jue ’07 ’12 is a mentor in the Wildcat Mentor Society. For Giving Day, she set a challenge to encourage her fellow University of Arizona alumni and supporters to invest in the program and doubled gifts up to $3,000. Her employer, Microsoft, matched Jue’s side of the giving, bringing the total match to $6,000.

Jue joined with of 2,326 other unique donors from 41 states and made this Valentine’s Day an outpouring of love for UArizona and those it serves. During a 24-hour period beginning at noon on Valentine’s Day, supporters gave $3,770,398 to 247 funds dedicated to colleges and units, scholarships, Arizona Athletics, student support services and more.

This was the second Giving Day for UArizona. Of the gifts made online, 40% were for $100 or less and the average was $170.

The first Giving Day was celebrated during Homecoming 2020. Supporters gave $1,052,278 for student success initiatives and scholarships. The previous Giving Day was exclusively focused on student support.

Every gift matters, and Giving Day’s high participation will create a meaningful difference, said John-Paul Roczniak, president and CEO of the University of Arizona Foundation.

“I’m so inspired by what we did together for the people, the programs, and the future of the University of Arizona,” he said. “This means more scholarships, more research funding, more student support, more of all that makes our university an extraordinary hub of service and scholarship.”

Jue has seen the power of the Wildcat Mentor Society, in which students are paired with accomplished recent graduates who impart knowledge about beginning a career and wanted to support it during Giving Day, as well as join with others in combining modest gifts, she said.

“It’s really about the spirit of giving and championing what you believe in with supporting others. It’s not about the amount of the gift,” she said.

Overall, 21 matching challenges contributed $539,250. Other successful challenges included a $5,000 match for gifts made to the College of Engineering’s ENGAGED program, which improves the retention and graduation success of historically underrepresented students in engineering, and a $1,000 match for gifts made by new donors to UArizona. Giving Day attracted 225 people to make their first gifts to the university.

In addition, 128 supporters contributed to Giving Day by serving as ambassadors, who spread the word on social media and with their personal networks. To increase awareness and student engagement on campus, our staff and students also hosted events on the Mall. More than 300 students celebrated Giving Day by signing thank you notes for donors and competing in interactive games. Cake was enjoyed by all and participants left with Giving Day T-shirts to mark the occasion.