Fourth annual USU Day of Giving
*Editor’s note: This story was updated on Oct. 10 to reflect updated donation information.
The fourth year of Utah State University’s fundraising event, A Day of Giving, took place on Oct. 6 from at 12a.m. to Oct. 7 at 12a.m. — a full 24 hours of giving.
A Day of Giving is a fundraising event for past and current Aggies to show their school pride and donate to current students.
It is an online email-based social media fundraising campaign. They accept all forms of payment including Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo and bank transfer. This year, they raised $167,038 with 552 donors.
This was started in 2018 and is managed by the director of annual giving, Jonathan Young.
All the donations will take place online to save on cost of the event. Young said he wants to spend the least amount of money possible on the event so more goes towards the students.
Last year, the event raised $304,603 and received 873 gifts from donors in 24 hours.
The goal for this year’s A Day of Giving is to get 1,000 donors instead of a dollar amount.
“We think it’s important for people to get in the habit of giving,” Young said.
Originally, the event was on Giving Tuesday, the worldwide event of generosity that takes place the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
However, the Advancement and Alumni Relations team received fewer donations because the event was tied to Giving Tuesday according to Young. They decided to move it to homecoming week where it will be seen more and have more focus by students and alumni.
The colleges around USU are asked what they want their alumni and students to donate to them. According to the A Day of Giving website, most of the colleges want money to go towards scholarships in their college.
This year, the USU Advancement and Alumni Relations team wants to push donations for scholarships to go to an Aggie who is a first-generation student.
Some of the other places the team wants donations to go to is the Student Nutrition Access Center that does not receive money from student fees and only runs on donations.
Students at USU have different opinions on A Day of Giving.
Sierra Anderson is a student in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and was asked what she would want her college to do with the money.
“As an English major I am always in the Ray B. West building, and that building needs some serious help,” she said.
Another student, Dylan Johnson who is also in CHASS was asked what he thought of the event.
“I think it’s hard to get students to donate to things,” he said. “If there was something where I could donate time versus money to help other people raise money, I would be more interested in that.”
Elijah Kimmel, a student in the College of Engineering, said, “Speaking as a broke college kid, I don’t have much to give back. But I think the idea is sound.” .
“It’s awesome we can all join together, as the Aggie family and give to a cause,” Young said.
-Jack.Johnson@usu.edu
Featured photo by Elise Gottling