First 'Thank a Donor Day' Event Finds Success

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Attendees of "Thank a Donor Day" showed their appreciation to benefactors of the university.

The University of Arkansas recently held its first Thank a Donor Day event to bring visibility to the many financial contributions that may go unnoticed by members of the campus community and to educate the Arkansas family about the importance of private gifts and how they can get involved.

During this celebration of benefactors to the university, students, employees, alumni and friends were invited to grab a slice of pizza and a piece of cake and sign a hog-sized thank you card, which ended the day with 439 signatures. Participates were also offered the opportunity to say a few words of thanks that were videotaped and will be used in fundraising and stewardship efforts. Another component of this event was to acknowledge the donors who are a part of campus each day already — the many faculty, staff and students who choose to support the institution through financial contributions.

The event was planned by the office of annual programs within University Development.

“The first year of any event involves a lot of unknowns in planning and execution,” said Rachel Neely, director of annual programs. “But I am pleased to say the university’s first Thank a Donor Day was a complete success! We learned as we went, and we will make it even better in years to come. I hope more members of the U of A community, on and off campus, will take part next year. You can never thank benefactors enough for what they give to our university.”

During the four-hour event, Chancellor G. David Gearhart made remarks about the importance and impact of private giving, a winner was announced for the Thank a Donor student video contest leading up to the event and 34 prizes were given away. More than 100 members of the campus community updated their contact information, which helps in outreach efforts and overall communications.

The day would not have been possible without the generous help from student, staff and faculty volunteers and the many members of the Arkansas family who stopped by to say thanks.