Hundreds of UGA students expressed their gratitude to the university’s supporters April 17 during the third annual Thank-a-Donor Day on the Tate Student Center Plaza.
Organized by UGA’s Office of Donor Relations and Stewardship in partnership with the Student Alumni Council, the event offered multiple ways for students to say thank you. Participants hand-wrote nearly 600 personalized notes, signed a large card, designed posters and recorded video messages. The cards will be mailed directly to donors and the multimedia messages will be shared with more than 200,000 current alumni and donors through a video of highlights from the event.
“Big Man on Campus” Rance Nix, Miss UGA Adeline Kenerly, the UGA Ballroom Performance Group and Hairy Dawg provided entertainment during the event.
Thank-a-Donor Day is an opportunity to educate the UGA community about the importance of private giving as well as give students the opportunity to thank donors for their generosity and encourage a culture of philanthropy and gratitude at UGA, according to Tony Stringer, director of donor relations and stewardship.
“Studies have shown that a habit of expressing appreciation has a positive effect on your life and college performance,” Stringer said. “We have planned several more events this coming school year to give students more opportunities to express their gratitude to the tens of thousands of donors who make a difference in the lives of every UGA student every day. Donations support nearly every aspect of a student’s experience at UGA.”
Debuting this fall, the Office of Donor Relations and Stewardship’s ThankU program will provide additional opportunities for students to show their appreciation to donors while they attend UGA. Beginning with orientation and ending with graduation, students will have many opportunities to say thank you.
“These events are intended to create an attitude of gratitude among students and to encourage them to become part of the cycle of gratitude and giving at UGA,” Stringer said.
Thank-a-Donor Day was covered through social media. Vignettes, excerpts and images are at facebook.com/UGAThankaDonorDay; twitter.com/UGAThankaDonor; instagram.com/UGAThankaDonor; or flicker.com/UGADonorRelations.