Every year, the University of Rhode Island sets its sights on a particular day in the fall semester where the full might of URI’s fundraising prowess, coupled with our infectious school pride, can intersect and make one giant event- and this year, URI’s Day of Giving and Quad Fest campaigns were among the most successful in the school’s history.
The goals set for this year’s Day of Giving, run by the non-profit URI Foundation, was to raise $1.5 million for the University from 4,000 donors. With the help of URI students, faculty and alumni, the campaign raised over $2 million, while also surpassing the donor goal.
Alicia Johnson, the assistant director of alumni and family engagement at the URI Foundation, said one of the big focuses this year was on spreading the word about Day of Giving within the University itself, specifically to campus partners and the degree-granting colleges.
“We were very intentional with communicating from the [URI] Foundation to our campus partners about Day of Giving,” Johnson said. “Making sure these are conversations that are happening at the department head level, making sure that every single person knew that Day of Giving was coming, and clearly we crushed it.”
Some initiatives that stood out included URI’s Athletics programs, which collectively raised over $1 million, with the women’s basketball program leading the pack with over $300,000 raised, a testament to their historic season in 2023.
At the college level, the College of Business led the way with over $80,000 raised from nearly 150 donors. Engineering finished in second with almost $30,000 raised, and the College of Arts and Science rounded out the podium in third, with over $23,000 from 78 donors.
In addition, the University saw nearly $100,000 raised for its Justice, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion fund, which included donations to Talent Development, the Military and Veteran Education Center and Multicultural Student Services Center, among others.
One of the great things about Day of Giving is not just the impact it has on current and future generations of URI students, but the opportunity it provides for alumni to see all the positive change that is happening across campus, says Johnson.
“This is an opportunity to get all of the URI Rhody rams from across the globe to see what we’re doing at URI,” according to Johnson. “How we’re changing and evolving and meeting the needs of our community locally, globally and nationally. We’re offering an open door to our alumni to say, ‘here’s how you can come back and be involved with the campus.’”
Johnson also cited the connections formed between alumni and the URI community as a reason why Day of Giving is so special.
“We often find that day giving isn’t just about fundraising, but it’s about building connections with our community that is going to have a benefit for not only the students in the campus life, but also our alumni who are looking to give back,” Johnson said.
While Day of Giving is primarily an online event, URI students were able to experience another event on campus, in the form of Quad Fest.
An event pioneered by URI President Marc Parlange, this year’s 3rd edition saw the participation of over 30 student organizations along with a dunk tank, petting zoo and an inflatable corn maze, according to Ann-Marie Smiley, specialist in URI’s office of university events.
Numerous campus partners also participated in the event, including Public Safety’s Officer Paul Ricci, who grilled up his famous hot dogs and popcorn for students, as well as representation from Campus Rec, Health Services and the free farmer’s market.
Overall, this year’s Day of Giving and Quad Fest events were huge successes, which Johnson credits partially to how well the community helped spread awareness of the campaign, a positive sign for future Days of Giving to come.
“It was really about the URI community; rallying support from alumni, parents, families, supporters, friends of URI and really echoing the message to have people give back and celebrate the areas at URI that are meaningful to them,” Johnson said.