UNC wants you to get ready to give this week

UNC will host its second annual University-wide giving day, GiveUNC, on Tuesday. The donations are used to benefit current and future Tar Heels and other citizens UNC serves, both in the state and around the world. 

GiveUNC provides the opportunity for people to celebrate and invest in the students, faculty and staff who collaborate to solve current challenges. Donors are able to select where they would like their contribution to be received. 

An on-campus section of the fundraiser will take place between 10 a.m and 4 p.m. in the Pit, but the larger part of GiveUNC is the virtual engagement.

Last year, the debut of GiveUNC saw more than 3,600 individuals donate. This year, UNC is partnering with alumni, students, staff, parents and friends to share their stories of the impact that UNC has had on their lives. They will also be able to meet matching-gift challenges and spread the word about "why it's always a great day to be a Tar Heel," according to a UNC press release.

Morgan Burke, the digital marketing manager for the University Development Office, said GiveUNC is important because it is a 24-hour opportunity for Tar Heels everywhere to come together and give back to the University.

"The 24 hours in particular is very important because it gives us the chance to offer donor challenges throughout the day," Burke said. "One of the biggest and coolest aspects of GiveUNC, donor challenges, are where a donor offers a challenge to the Carolina community where per a certain goal, the donor will then donate a certain amount of money."

Burke said one of the donor challenges for this GiveUNC is through Carolina Covenant, where if 100 people donate $5 each, Carolina Covenant will contribute another $100,000, for a combined total of $100,500.

Holly Graham, the associate director of marketing for the University Development Office, said GiveUNC is a virtual gathering with the opportunity for graduates, students and faculty around the world to join together to focus in on the impact that UNC has made on their lives and the impact they can make giving back to support the areas they are passionate about. 

“We are in the middle of a campaign right now — For All Kind: the Campaign for Carolina — and we talk a lot about impact and accessibility; this is just another example of how we can come together as a community bound in love and loyalty to Carolina and really give to those areas that mean the most to us,” Graham said.  

Darlene Gooch, the executive director of annual giving, said the funding is allocated based on the choice of the donor and what they are most passionate about. Donors can choose where their donations will be received depending on their past experiences or can choose an unrestricted fund, which will be put toward the greatest need. 

“Last year, we raised over $1.8 million that day from a little over 3,600 donors, and so obviously, we want to improve on that; we have really enhanced and improved all our branding from what we learned last year,” Gooch said.

The marketing for GiveUNC has been expanded and broadened through digital advertisements, emails and social media. The GiveUNC website features a countdown clock for the event and the number of donors and amount of money that has been given so far. 

The date of GiveUNC falls close to the middle of UNC’s historic fundraising effort, For All Kind: the Campaign for Carolina, which is the University’s largest fundraising effort in history. The goal of For All Kind is to raise $4.25 billion by Dec. 31, 2022. So far, nearly 164,800 donors have raised $2.51 billion. The contributions to GiveUNC are included in the fundraising for the Campaign for Carolina. 

university@dailytarheel.com