Giving Day Smashes Fundraising Record With $3.75M Total

The University of Maryland raised a record-shattering $3,753,152 in its annual one-day fundraising marathon, marking the second year in a row that Giving Day donations jumped by about $1 million.

The wave of support from 8,875 individual donors on Wednesday will send much-needed funding to more than 380 academic units, programs, scholarships and outside-the-classroom experiences.

“Today is a day of thanks,” said UMD President Darryll J. Pines. “Terrapin generosity allowed us to spring past our Giving Day goal, supporting more student opportunities, research, arts and athletics. To our champions, alumni, students, faculty, staff, family and friends who made this year so special—thank you.”

The ninth annual event’s total, up from $2.8 million last year and $1.6 million in 2020, was a remarkable surge, attributable partly to the roughly $775,000 available in matching funds from UMD supporters, said Jennie Culotta, director of annual giving.

“This forward momentum was spurred by generous matching donors who contributed nearly twice as much as last year, and galvanized by Terps rising fearlessly to the challenge,” she said.

In the friendly competition among units, Athletics led in dollars raised, with $548,366 from 672 donors. The Robert H. Smith School of Business came in second, with $360,390 from 722 individuals.

“This Giving Day was a testament to Smith's very strong community,” said Maryland Smith Dean Prabhudev Konana. “The funds raised to promote entrepreneurship, provide scholarships and enhance student experiences will have such a powerful impact on the school's mission, and I'm truly thankful to each of our donors for their confidence in us.”

Prizes sparked the giving spirit, with incentives to rally specific groups of donors at certain times throughout the 24 hours. The College of Arts and Humanities and Maryland Smith each earned an additional $2,500 for having the most alum donors in the morning and again in the evening, while the Division of Student Affairs, Office of Diversity and Inclusion and College of Agriculture and Natural Resources topped other categories.

More than 500 Terps took to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to bolster the day’s efforts through the #GivingDayUMD hashtag, posting nearly 2,000 times. By posting selfies featuring a vintage-style pennant made for the day or showing off their pets decked out in UMD gear, social media users seized the chance to funnel extra funds toward their unit of choice.

“We are thrilled and so proud of the Maryland community,” said Culotta.