A Day of Giving raises $730,528 this year

Utah State University’s annual A Day of Giving was on Sept. 24. A Day of Giving is 24 hours in which students, alums, staff and fans come together to donate to USU, typically with a particular focus in mind.

The focus of the 2026 A Day of Giving was on student scholarships, according to USU’s A Day of Giving webpage. The donation page for A Day of Giving states a goal of 1,000 donors. By the end of the campaign, they had reached 521 donors, or 52% of the stated goal. From those 521 donors, $730,528 was donated, which was several thousand more dollars than last year’s A Day of Giving that raised $405,116.

Each donor was able to choose an area of impact to donate to, including Colleges, Statewide Campuses, Athletics, Student Success or Community. The A Day of Giving donation page shows the athletics impact area received the most donations at 232 donors and $603,215 donated, with colleges coming in second at 148 donors and $68,759 donated.

Each impact area had additional impact areas for donors to further decide where their donation would be applied. The sub-area that received the most was the Big Blue Excellence Fund under the Athletics impact area, raising $590,511 to help fund the athletic programs at Utah State.

Another sub-area that received many donations, surpassing their goal by 40%, was the SNAC Pantry under the Community impact area, which received a total of $10,925 to help provide students with access to food.

Also under Community, the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art received 108% of their goal at $9,715, which will support the purchase of a new truck to accommodate more students and fund more art education.

USU associate director of annual giving Alana Haupert wrote in an email to The Utah Statesman how she felt the community response was for the 2026 A Day of Giving.

Lola Probasco

A Day Of Giving was outside of the TSC on Sept. 24. USU students gathered and had snacks and forms for learning about a day of giving.

“This A Day of Giving had a great response from our community. With 40-plus areas to support around campus, we are incredibly grateful for our donors’ participation and support,” Haupert wrote. “Together, 521 donors contributed $730,528 in support of Utah State University, making a meaningful investment in our students and campus community. Donor’s funds directly support student scholarships, experiences, and allow students to have a positive college experience at Utah State. As a former USU student who benefited from donor support, I know firsthand how meaningful these gifts can be and how they can assist a student’s experience. Any funding we receive will directly impact the community where students learn, grow, and create life-long relationships. We are incredibly grateful to be able to support the Aggie experience and the Utah State community.”

A current USU senior, Alta Stott, shared how she felt about A Day of Giving being focused on scholarships.

“I think it could be beneficial,” Stott said. “We are all broke college students, and we love a scholarship because it’s free money, but if we are asking students to donate their own money, I don’t know, it sounds counterintuitive, but it could be beneficial if every student donates $5. We could have a really big scholarship we could share between ourselves and be able to fund our college education.”

Haupert was asked more about the scholarships and if there were specific scholarships connected to A Day of Giving that students should be looking for.

“A Day of Giving’s general objective is to fund as many student scholarships as possible,” Haupert wrote in the email. “There are many opportunities from every college, statewide campus, and many community groups for students to look for scholarships to support their college experience. One example is the student emergency hardship fund, which can support students in any major who are experiencing life-changing situations that could threaten their education.”

Stott was asked if she had noticed an impact from A Day of Giving in previous years.

“Some of my friends have talked about it,” Stott said. “They went because their class requires service hours, so I think that it is a great way for students to get involved in service in the community.”

This focus on serving others is reinforced at USU through the 1888 challenge, which was promoted during the weeks leading up to A Day of Giving.

The 1888 Challenge is for graduating seniors to donate $18.88 in exchange for a philanthropy cord that can be worn at commencement.

The 1888 Challenge is still ongoing and open to any graduating seniors who would like to donate. The donations directly support Aggie First Scholars, Counseling and Prevention Services or the Emergency Hardship Fund.

More information and opportunities to donate to Utah State University are available at usu.edu/advancement/howtogive.

While these donations are not added to the $730,528 A Day of Giving total, any donation will still help students in need.