30 January 2025

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Giving Tuesday Ignites Generous Support

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The Tufts global community joined forces on #TuftsGivingTuesday to set a new record for the annual day of giving, raising a total of $4.95 million.

For the first time, Tufts Giving Tuesday also raised $1 million for undergraduate financial aid with the “Make It a Million” matching gift campaign led by Tufts alumni and parents. It was one of more than 75 matching challenges, along with dozens of other giving opportunities, that inspired gifts from close to 8,000 people. (Detailed giving results can be found at #TuftsGivingTuesday.)

“What a difference a day makes!” said Elizabeth Amador, J91, A22P, president of the Tufts University Alumni Association. “The generosity of alumni, parents, staff, students, faculty, friends, and many others speaks to both the indelible Tufts experience and to the boundless ways Tufts is making a difference in the wider world. Each and every gift will sustain and strengthen that distinctive academic and research mission that leads to the global-impact thinking that characterizes Tufts. Thank you to everyone who took time out to support Tufts and ensure its continued excellence.” 

This year’s campaign slogan, “With You, We Will,” highlighted the collective power of philanthropy to bring critical resources to the university. It was a message also underscored in a video that reinforced the powerful impact of gifts that directly benefit the student experience. 

Shirish Pokharel, A15, of Seattle, took that message to heart to make his online gift.

“I donated to financial aid this year because people who came before me donated to financial aid so I could have the opportunity to attend Tufts, something I never would have gotten to do otherwise,” he said. “I want to pass that opportunity on to younger folks and make a Tufts education a more equitable opportunity.” 

Among the students who appreciate Giving Tuesday donations was Julieta Grané, A26, who tabled at the Campus Center for The Tufts Daily, where she is editor-in-chief. The student newspaper had set a goal of raising $10,000. Because The Tufts Daily receives no funding from the TCU Senate, “donations are critical for us to operate," she said. “We are always thankful for generous donations of community members and supporters who help us provide free, independent, and accurate reporting.”

Tufts Giving Tuesday this year attracted gifts from 47 states and from countries as varied as Argentina, the United Kingdom, Sweden, South Africa, Japan, Australia, Thailand, and China.

As always, Tufts students, staff and volunteers leveraged the power of social media to drum up support for programs ranging from student organizations and club sports to Tufts programs such as the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and the Mother Lab for Black Maternal Health at Tufts University School of Medicine.  

Achievement highlights included: 

• Schools and programs that eclipsed their goals included the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Derby Entrepreneurship Center, and Tisch College of Civic Life. 
• Among the many challenges successfully completed was the Student Challenge; when 500 student donors participated in Tufts Giving Tuesday, the Tufts University Alumni Association contributed $10,000 for financial aid.
• Student life programs drew strong support catalyzed by matching gift incentives. Programs grouped under “Inclusion and Belonging,” for instance, secured more than $92,000. Undergraduate internship gifts reached nearly $20,000 and the Initiative for Global Leadership raised more than $76,000. Tufts Athletics raised more than $1.55 million from more than 4,000 donors.   
• Classes planning to celebrate reunions in 2025 saw brisk giving as well. For classes planning 1st to 25th reunions, participation was highest among the classes of 2024, 2015, and 2020; for classes celebrating 30th-70th reunions, the classes of 1990, 1995, and 1985 led the way. 

The university expressed its gratitude to all who contributed to another #TuftsGivingTuesday success by sending out a thank-you Wednesday; the video is also featured at the top of the giving website. 

While still photographs conveyed the creative vitality of the Tufts campuses, words that accompanied the email summed up the far-reaching impact from the day of giving.

“Because of you, Tufts students from all our schools, across all our campuses, will be able to learn, find support, take that unpaid internship, pursue world-class research, and move with purpose into their lives. Not bad for a Tuesday.”

Author: Laura Ferguson

Source: https://now.tufts.edu/