Giving to UGA: A how-to guide for curious (and generous) Bulldogs
Giving to UGA creates the opportunity for individuals to make a direct and lasting impact on students. Scholarships, student programs, top-notch faculty and innovative research programs all thrive because of donor support.
Some of the most iconic and fulfilling experiences for UGA students exist thanks to private giving. Students who may have previously thought that a once-in-a-lifetime study abroad trip or an internship in the nation’s capital were out-of-reach, now have these opportunities because of donors’ generosity.
Think about the programs, organizations or mentors that shaped your own student experience — whether at UGA or elsewhere. Perhaps you once benefited from the generosity of others. Now, you have the chance to pay it forward and be that support for students today and in the future. If you once benefited from the generosity of others, now is your chance to pay it forward and open doors for Bulldogs today and for generations to come.
Private funding is also vital for campus programs like The Sunshine Fund, which provides well-being services and support to students, or the Let the Big Dawgs Eat Food Scholarship, which provides meal plans to students at UGA.
Who Benefits?
For many Bulldogs, there may still be a gap to cover the full cost of attending UGA, even after financial aid. This could mean taking out loans or working several jobs, which can be a heavy burden for students who need to focus on their studies or the once-in-a-lifetime experiences that only UGA can offer.
And while students are the next generation of thinkers, leaders, decision-makers and game-changers and benefit greatly from private giving, you can also make an impact on the next big discovery and service engines from UGA’s top faculty and researchers. Endowed faculty positions, public-private partnerships with leaders of industry, and statewide community service programs that seek to tackle our state and world’s biggest challenges are just some of the broad areas where your gift shapes our university into a true powerhouse.
Ways to Give
There are a variety of ways you can give to student programs or crucial resources that UGA provides the rest of the state — from economic development, community health and well-being, to tackling the world’s biggest challenges like food supply issues, emerging diseases and the Georgia coastline.
First, there is the traditional idea of giving — this can be a recurring gift, or you can pledge a certain amount and pay it over time. This can even be done through Venmo, PayPal and Apple Pay!
Or maybe you prefer playing the long game. You can leave the UGA Foundation as a beneficiary in your will, trust, or retirement plan, or you can transfer your IRA rollover amount to the UGA Foundation. You can also transfer cash or other assets (like stocks) over to the UGA Foundation in exchange for fixed payments. This is known as planned giving and can get a little complex but guess what? We’ve got you covered with a team of the best and brightest to help you make sure your gift goes exactly where you want it to go.
You can also work with your employer’s matching gifts program where your company will match your charitable contributions and double your gift and your impact.
Now, you may be wondering: “Where does my gift go? Does it sit in gold bars in a vault underneath Sanford Stadium protected by the ghosts of Ugas past?” While that sounds awesome, there’s no secret gold vault.
The UGA Foundation is actually the guardian or “steward” of donor funds. They make sure that donations to the university go exactly where donors want them to go and that those gifts are taken care of for the long-term benefit of the university.
The Foundation manages more than $2 billion in assets, a large portion of which is endowed, which means that a portion of the gift is invested (rather than spent immediately, in order to accrue more dividends as time passes), and provides more than $102 million annually to UGA to advance its mission of teaching, research and public service.
You can also give directly to a program or organization or scholarship on campus, and they direct those funds to areas of priority at their own discretion — this could be anything from textbooks and lab equipment to funding for internships and professional development.
No matter what size gift you want to make, UGA has a way for you to do so. All you have to do is ask or visit our website give.uga.edu.
Where Does the Money Go?
One of the best parts of giving to UGA? You can choose to support any area on campus anytime you want!
Maybe you set up your UGA giving to go hand-in-hand with your paycheck or estate plan. Or maybe you like to give around the holidays (and before December 31 to count on the year’s tax deductions). Or maybe you need a little more excitement when you give — that’s totally fine with us.
We have fun campaigns that operate seasonally and year-round. In the spring, we have Dawg Day of Giving, an exciting, fun-filled 24-hour giving day campaign with hour-by-hour challenges and giveaways. We’ve now set a record four years in a row thanks to Bulldog Nation.
Or perhaps you like a little competition with your philanthropy. How does claiming victory over a football rival AND giving back to the causes you care about sound? Beat Week, where UGA goes head-to-head with another school in the fall to see who can raise the most money in a week-long period. What’s not to love about helping the Bulldogs claim victory both on and off the field?
All of this to say, if you are interested in giving back and want to ensure your gift makes an impact on your community, state and world, UGA has got the right giving plan for you. Head to give.uga.edu where you’ll find personal stories, the most up-to-date news about private giving at UGA, and the contact information for the team of dedicated professionals who are committed to helping you leave your legacy at UGA.
We can make this campus even better by working together and supporting one another. After all, Bulldogs Never Bark Alone.
