UC Riverside community members and friends gave back in a big way for the university’s first UCR Give Day.

The Office of Annual Giving reported initial results of $462,546 raised with 1,700 gifts, surpassing the $388,000 raised on Giving Tuesday in November 2021, the last major campus fundraiser. Donations are still being processed so a fuller picture will be available when the final results are tallied, said Crystal Sankey, director of Annual Giving.

“To see almost 70 program areas across campus come together and rally the UCR community was uplifting to say the least,” she said. “Several of UCR’s Give Day project page participants were new to fundraising and knocked it out of the park. The Annual Giving team is excited to see UCR Give Day continue to grow and bring support to programs across campus.”

The first stand-alone UCR Give Day was launched as a way to focus solely on supporting campus programs. 

The timing and theme highlighted Highlander heritage as the April 6 date fell on National Tartan Day and the campaign ran for one day, nine hours, and 54 minutes, referencing UCR’s 1954 founding year.

Almost 70 participants supporting students, research and programs signed up for Give Day, including some that hadn’t taken part in previous fundraisers. The Society of Women Engineers, which was fundraising for its robotics team to attend a world competition, won in the first-time participants challenge with the most donors, winning an extra $2,000.

That was among a dozen challenges where participants could win extra funds in a variety of ways.

The campaign was promoted via email, mail, social media, and videos, including two videos by Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox, in the weeks leading up to the date.

Check the Give Day website for updated results and information on the programs and how to support them.