The University of Virginia organized a 24-hour event, GivingToHoosDay, on Tuesday, April 12 – a day before their Founder’s Day. The event was planned to promote a sense of community, giving and change among students, alumni and donors. While the university did not have a specific goal for the event, it ended up raising $2,364,870 through 5,816 gifts within 24 hours.
Darden School Wins Fundraising Contest Among 13 Colleges
The Darden School of Business ranked #1 in the leaderboard among 13 colleges raking up $570,897 through 880 gifts. The school actively promoted the event through social media and First Coffee – the school’s daily 30-minute ritual of meeting for school-sponsored coffee after the first class of the day.
In addition to raising the maximum amount, Darden also won numerous bonuses throughout the day. GivingToHoosDay opened at midnight and the first gift given was from Darden at 12:01 am. At 5 AM, Darden also won $1000 for Most International Gifts. Doug Moore, Chairman of Darden’s Alumni Board, credited Darden’s Chinese Chapter of Darden Alumni for a significant chunk of the contribution. However, Darden fell well short of 3,900 gifts (50% participation) needed to unlock a gift of $825,000 from a special group of alumni.
Darden Thanks Supporters on Social Media
After their victory, Darden took to social media to thank all their supporters with the following message:
Dear Darden Community: Thank you for your generous and amazing support! We are awed and grateful to be at the top of the #UVA #GivingToHoosDay leaderboard. What a great birthday gift for Mr. Jefferson!
Competition between Darden and UVA College
During the day, there was friendly rivalry between Darden and the College (school for undergrads) with the college vying to catch up. While the College did not succeed in its attempts to overtake Darden in dollars raised, they did snag #1 position in total gifts given, accumulating 1,124 gifts. Below is a sample of how the two schools egged their supporters on to continue the outpouring of moolah.
Hey Darden Folks: @UVA_College is catching up! Keep our lead, give now! https://t.co/Y3Mup369dr #GivingToHoosDay pic.twitter.com/gh8nmYXUeC
— Darden School at UVA (@DardenMBA) April 12, 2016
As an MBA-focused publication, we cannot help but rejoice at Darden’s victory. These funds would help ensure that Darden continues to invest in its future.