Professors planting flowers? Students spreading mulch? Must be University Day, the annual observance that for more than 100 years has been a chance for Ducks to donate some time on a spring day to spruce up campus.
Alumni and friends who can’t join the work party are also giving back to their university today as part of a new tradition. It’s called #DucksGive, the UO’s first annual giving day.
Organizers of the fundraising campaign hope to inspire at least 519 alumni (on 5/19, get it?) to contribute to their favorite area of campus. Leadership donors have stepped up to offer more than $1.5 million in challenge gifts. Every contribution made between midnight May 19 and noon May 20 counts.
“These one-day campaigns are common at universities across the country,” said Katy George, a #DucksGive organizer with University Advancement and 2013 UO graduate. “Giving days are very popular for first-time gifts, because it’s not so much about the amount as it is about participation.”
At comparable institutions, new donors often make 30-60 percent of the contributions, George said. Organizers hope the campaign will add new Duck philanthropists to the rosters every year.
“We plan to organize #DucksGive annually in conjunction with University Day,” she said. “It’s a perfect match. Students and faculty and staff members are giving their time by making our campus more beautiful, and alumni are making financial contributions. We’re very grateful to all the dedicated Ducks who have kick-started #DucksGive with generous challenge gifts.”
Leading the way is 1951 UO graduate Leona DeArmond, who has offered $500,000 to the Allan Price Science Commons and Research Library as a challenge for 519 donors to step up. Another anonymous donor has offered $150,000 for scholarships and faculty support in the College of Education, challenging 75 donors to donate to the college.
Similar challenges have been made on behalf of schools and colleges across campus, as well as athletics, the Oregon Bach Festival and the Museum of Natural and Cultural History. For a complete list, visit ducksgive.uoregon.edu.
#DucksGive organizers are also hosting an event at the Erb Memorial Union to reward hard-working students. They won’t be asked to give, but they will have chances to win pizza, deep-fried confections from Voodoo Doughnut and gift certificates for Chipotle and Townsend Teas while they learn about the importance of philanthropy.
“We wanted to give something back to students,” George said. “So, of course, that means free food. But we’re also taking this opportunity to have a little fun teaching students — our future alumni — about how the university is funded and the role that donors play. For example, the UO receives less than 6 percent of its funding from the state of Oregon. And 56 percent of our total funding comes from outside sources and private gifts.”
The event will host booths focusing on different aspects of philanthropy. For each booth that students visit, they will receive a stamp in their official #DucksGive Passport, which can be redeemed for food and prizes.
The #DucksGive student event runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the EMU. Alumni interested in giving can visit ducksgive.uoregon.edu.
—By Ed Dorsch, University Communications