GiveUNC raises over $10 million for University

On Tuesday, more than ten thousand donors cumulatively gave over $10 million to UNC departments and student organizations.

The day marked the sixth annual GiveUNC – a 24-hour period in which University supporters are encouraged to donate to a variety of programs and initiatives.

“GiveUNC is a day to rally together behind all the wonderful things that Carolina is doing for the community, the state, the world,” Darlene Gooch, the executive director of Annual Giving at the University, said in an email statement. “There’s truly no other day like it."

GiveUNC festivities offered campus engagement opportunities for students between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bell Tower. They were organized by Associate Director of Annual Giving Kamryn Clairmont.

She said the activities are focused on bringing the campus community together to make a large positive impact. 

GiveUNC is becoming a tradition for the University and is seeing increased participation from students and faculty, she added.

“When our students are here, we're encouraging them to make a $5 gift because every dollar counts," Clairmont said.

Kandace Farrar, associate dean for advancement of the School of Social Work, said she sent an email to her colleagues regarding GiveUNC and shortly after saw their names appear on the “recent donors” list.

“I want all of our faculty and staff to make a gift no matter what size it is, because we need to invest in one another,” she said. 

Organizations such as UNC’s Student Health Action Coalition — a group that provides free health care to underserved populations throughout Chapel Hill — depend on donations from events like GiveUNC to operate.

Without the donations, the Student Health Action Coalition would not be able to provide the same care to patients, Student Health Action Coalition CEO and medical student Emily Bulik-Sullivan said.

Money raised for the coalition on UNC’s annual day of giving will go toward purchasing a device that performs electrocardiograms and beginning a transportation assistance fund to help make healthcare more accessible for those in the community.

Through GiveUNC, the University has demonstrated care about student activities and shown it is including student organizations in the conversation about where donors can direct their money, Bulik-Sullivan said.

Money given to schools and colleges within UNC will largely go toward scholarships and enriching student experiences. However, donors are also able to choose where they want to give their money within each of the departments.

Farrar said the School of Social Work raised $95,000, but not all of that money is going to one specific fund.

“Some of that is going to be to the Hortense McClinton Scholarship fund, some of it might be to the tiny homes village and some of it might be for peer wellness coaching for our students,” she said. 

Throughout the day, the School of Social Work emphasized the importance of gifts of all sizes and giving donors a platform to feel as though their donations were making a difference.

“If you look at who our alumni are, social workers don't go into particularly lucrative careers and they're not going to have as much to give as, say, someone who's an alum of the business school,” Farrar said. “But that doesn't mean that their gift can't matter.”

Through several smaller donations, the School of Social Work has been able to raise the same amount of money they would have from pursuing one significant donor. 

In light of UNC’s mental health movement, many GiveUNC donors have been turning their attention toward the School of Social Work. The School raised more money this year than it had through GiveUNC in the last five years combined.

“I think that's a result of telling our story,” Farrar said. “There's so much incredible work going on at the School of Social Work and so many things that we're doing to address our state's mental health crisis and child welfare issues.”

She believes GiveUNC creates a “culture of philanthropy” largely based on participation throughout the University.

“It's about showing people that large goals become small when divided among many,” Farrar said. 

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