The University of Pretoria (UP) is preparing for its second annual UP Giving Day, which seeks to raise funds for undergraduate and postgraduate students who fall into the “missing middle” – students who don’t qualify for NSFAS funding, but whose families can’t afford the cost of university education.

The UP Giving Day culminates in a UP Giving Day, set for 24 July 2023.

As UP Giving Day draws closer, the Department of Institutional Advancement (DIA) spoke to Josiah Mavundla, Senior Manager for Advancement and Databases, to learn more about the initiative that aims to raise R100 million over three years.

What is UP Giving Day?

JM: It is a three-year campaign started in 2022 to create philanthropic awareness, attract new donors, and encourage existing donors to increase their funding to the university. It happens in July, a month dedicated to Nelson Mandela’s spirit of giving back to the less fortunate. The date is set for the day students return to campus in the second semester, 24 July.

What is the purpose of this initiative?

It aims to raise awareness about charitable giving and instil a culture of giving among the university’s communities, both internal and external – staff, students, and alumni, including friends of UP. The ultimate goal is to increase our individual donor pool.

How did the idea of UP Giving Day come about?

A ‘giving day’ is one of the fundraising initiatives that most universities in North America and Europe use to increase support from alumni, student, and staff communities.

The slogan for the campaign is, 'Your Giving Matters. Make a Difference. Make an Impact!' What is this supposed to signify or encourage?

It signifies the importance of giving, and how it impacts and makes a difference in our students’ lives, no matter how small the gift is. 

What can people donate, and what methods are in place to make these donations?

For the UP Giving Day campaign, we accept donations of money, and any amount is acceptable, even R20. You can donate through the UP Giving Day platform at www.givingday.up.ac.za, and our online credit card facility by going to www.up.ac.za and clicking on Giving to UP > Ways to Give > Online Credit Card Donation. If you are a UP staff member, you can use the ‘Payroll deduction’ instruction on the UP Staff Portal.

Who are the beneficiaries, and how do they benefit from these donations?

The 2023 UP Giving Day is focusing on student support. That means supporting students with the cost of attending the university, such as bursaries and so on. Therefore, beneficiaries will be UP students who are financially needy. We work closely with the Financial Aid team to identify potential beneficiaries, and they are mostly students in the “missing middle”; that is, they are too ‘rich’ to qualify for NSFAS, and too ‘poor’ to qualify for a bank loan to fund their studies at UP.

Who do you target with this message and call to action, and do they have the option to donate anonymously?

We target UP staff, students, alumni, high-net-worth individuals, and companies. Yes, they can donate anonymously. However, if they opt not to be anonymous, the donor’s name will appear on our online donor wall with other donors.

What were the targets for 2022, what did you achieve, and how do you feel about that?

In 2022 the target was to get 250 donors and raise R20 million in new money. At the end of the campaign, we had about 456 donors and raised R19.3 million.

What are your targets for 2023, and how would it feel to meet and exceed these targets?

In 2023 we aim to get 550 donors participating, and hopefully up to 800. We have already raised over R11.5 million in new money. Reaching our goals will signify that our donor pool is growing steadily, and thus the culture of giving and philanthropy is growing amongst the university community.

You have encouraged people to join you as an ambassador of the initiative. What does it mean for one to become an ambassador?

Yes, alumni, community members, donors, staff, friends, and families can sign up as ambassadors. We recommend that staff who run social media or send emails also sign up so they can track results through their custom URL. It is an easy way to track the success of digital communications channels. An ambassador’s role is to spread the word about UP Giving Day on social media and through their personal networks. Also, ambassadors play an important role in the success of the UP Giving Day campaign, because studies have shown that donors are twice as likely to give to people they know.

You have an option for donors to ‘Give Early’. How does that work? 

Those who cannot make a gift on UP Giving Day can donate early by visiting our UP Giving Day platform at www.givingday.up.ac.za and clicking on the Donate button.

This is a very positive initiative. How can members of the public help you spread the word?

Anybody can spread the word by signing up to be an ambassador or inviting key influencers to become ambassadors. They must visit our UP Giving Day platform at www.givingday.up.ac.za and click on Ambassadors.

Is there anything else you wish to add or highlight?

Just simply: ‘Be the difference. Be UP. Give today. #UPGivingMatters’.

To find out more about UP Giving Da y and to contribute, please visit:

https://givingday.up.ac.za