Donna Harter

Mary Wash Giving Day, the University’s first 24-hour giving day, was the largest one-day fundraising effort in Mary Washington history. Held March 14, 2017, the celebration coincided with the 109^th anniversary of the University’s founding. Snowy roads forced the closure of campus and cancellation of Giving Day events, but donors still turned out in force online to make the day a huge success.

Final Giving Day results are as follows:

• 1,218 gifts to areas across the University, including the Fund for Mary Washington, arts and cultural programs, athletics, academic departments, the Amphitheatre restoration, and scholarships
• 1,090 unique donors (counting each donor once, even if they made more than one gift), — of that number, 678 were UMW alumni
• $217,255 in gifts and gift commitments, including $80,655 for the Fund for Mary Washington

 The University of Mary Washington will hold its first giving day on March 14, 2017. This date is significant in the University’s history, as it marks 109 years since its founding in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women.

During Mary Wash Giving Day on March 14, donors can make gifts at mwgivingday.com from midnight through 11:59 p.m. Gifts received during this time will celebrate the UMW spirit of giving back and help fill the gap—since funding from the Commonwealth of Virginia accounts for just 25% of the University’s operating budget. Private support from the Mary Washington community is essential to providing an outstanding liberal arts education for UMW’s 4,000 students.

Of UMW’s 38,000 alumni, nearly one-third are graduates of the last decade, and their participation in giving is key to sustaining and strengthening the University’s tradition of excellence. One objective of Mary Wash Giving Day is to inspire these young Eagles to give back to the University, continuing a longstanding alumni tradition of paying it forward to the next generation of students.

The University has set a Giving Day goal of 654 donors (a nod to the prefix of all phone numbers on the Fredericksburg campus). Each individual’s participation, not the amount of their gift, matters most. Donors will be able to make online gifs in support of one or several areas of the University. These eight areas of support will be highlighted:

• Fund for Mary Washington (the University’s largest source of unrestricted support)
• Athletics
• Amphitheatre Challenge
• Arts & Culture
• Scholarships
• President’s Impact Fund
• Colleges and Libraries
• Senior Class Gift (the Class of 2017’s legacy gift to the University).

At mwgivingday.com, donors will be able to keep track of the day’s progress via a dynamic leaderboard, share their donations on social media, and send emails and text messages encouraging friends to give. Alumni and other passionate Mary Washington supporters who would like to serve as #MaryWashDay social media ambassadors can download profile and cover images on the Social Media page of the site. More information about the day can be found on the FAQs page.