Building bigger, together
At UC Davis, grassroots projects engage donors in the story of how smaller gifts can collectively make a huge difference.
Crowdfund UC Davis
“Ewe” can really make a difference by supporting crowdfunding projects like UC Davis Sheep-mowers, one of last year’s successful Crowdfund UC Davis campaigns. “I joke that I’ve never had such a positive response to any of my other research projects,” said program director Haven Kiers, an assistant professor of landscape architecture. “Apparently, I just needed the right accessory to promote my work—sheep!”
This and 47 other Crowdfund campaigns in October 2021 and February 2022 saw great success in their fundraising efforts, bringing in $198,252 in gifts for many campus projects.
Aggies Helping Aggies
Students find inspiring ways to support each other through the UC Davis Student Foundation, also known as Aggies Helping Aggies.
As one example, the group operates the Student Emergency Relief Aid (SERA) program, which offers quick cash awards for unexpected expenses not covered by other forms of financial assistance. In the 2021-22 academic year, SERA awarded a total $91,751 to 74 students in need.
“Circumstances caused me to take custody of my younger sister,” SERA recipient Therek Romo Quevedo ’21 shared. “To support both of us, I was going to have to take on a full-time job and drop out of school. Because of SERA, I was able to afford to continue my education and finish my senior year, while providing for my family.”
Give Day
Give Day is UC Davis’ biggest fundraising event of the year, supporting students, research, programs and services across UC Davis and UC Davis Health. Through 29 hours of primarily online giving on April 22-23, alumni, friends, faculty and staff, students, business and community partners—from 44 states and 14 countries—joined the effort, together raising a record $4,163,621.
“We are amazed and deeply gratified by the rousing support for UC Davis across the Davis and Sacramento campuses and beyond,” said Shaun B. Keister, vice chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations.
Employee Giving Month
UC Davis employees continue to make a difference on campus with their gifts. “I give to UC Davis, and to the law students at King Hall specifically, because I appreciate how hard it is for students to finance their education and because our world needs kind, ethical problem-solvers in the legal profession,” said Emily Scivoletto, senior assistant dean for Student Affairs at the School of Law.
Scivoletto and nearly 2,000 employees participated in Employee Giving Month in April by giving $240,859 to UC Davis, with an average gift of $122.
