The University of Delaware held Philanthropy Week, Nov. 14–19, and participated in Giving Tuesday, a global day of philanthropy, on Nov. 30. Between Philanthropy Week and the week of #GivingTuesday, the Blue Hen community broke records — in more ways than one.

More than 2,000 alumni, friends, faculty, staff, parents and students came together to raise a record-breaking $260,000, supporting more than 70 fundraising projects — the largest number of projects UD has ever had for Giving Tuesday. These projects, led by students, faculty and alumni, touted causes that ranged from programming to prevent violence against women to scholarship support for Black students to funding that provides UD students necessities such as safe housing. Many of the projects are still available on HenFunder, the University’s crowdfunding platform.

“Our Blue Hen community has a strong desire to help each other,” said Jim Dicker, vice president of development and alumni relations. “The support that our donors demonstrated on #GivingTuesday shows that collectively, gifts of any amount add up — this generosity goes a long, long way for our students and faculty.”

Nearly $17,000 was raised for the Blue Hen Strong Fund — dedicated to supporting the ever-evolving needs of UD students — including $4,000 from a challenge match sponsored by the UD Alumni Association. This support helps UD students facing financial challenges by alleviating the costs of textbooks, meals, tuition or other financial burdens.  

A recent UDaily story explained the Blue Hen Strong Fund and how it supports UD students.

Save the date for the University’s largest annual giving day, I Heart UD Giving Day, May 4, 2022.