Published on April 10, 2024 by Dakota Rice  
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On April 9, Samford University celebrated Samford Giving Day 2024. After almost a decade of being known as The Big Give, University Advancement refreshed the campaign in 2023 to feature a more consistent, simplified message.  Samford Giving Day is now a 24-hour event for collective support of areas all over campus.

Samford alumni, students, parents, employees and friends came together to support their personal areas of passion. Whether one of the ten academic schools, athletics, Samford CARES, or another area of campus, there was no shortage of areas to support on Samford Giving Day.

After weeks of thoughtful email and social media campaigns, mailed communication and peer-to-peer encouragement, Samford is proud to announce that the goal of 1,100 individual donors was exceeded to reach 1,267 donors. Donors raised over $234,000 to impact students, even offering incentives such as dollar-for-dollar matches and donor-based challenges.

This year’s effort was spearheaded by Sydney Talley, director of annual giving at Samford. As an alumna herself, Talley knows firsthand how important donor engagement and philanthropy is to student success. Her leadership, coupled with the strong teamwork of her colleagues, is the reason this day was a success.

“We are so thankful for the generosity shown by hundreds of Samford supporters," said Talley. "This collective effort demonstrates that gifts of all sizes—from $5 to $10,000—make a true impact in the lives of our students and their Samford experiences! Whether through scholarships, academic programs, student life or another area, these gifts allow us to continue nurturing intellect, creativity, faith and personhood.”

Samford Giving Day is not solely about the number of dollars raised for the university. The real success is being able to educate the Samford community on the university’s campus priorities that better students’ Samford experiences. When people with every type of university affiliation come together for that unified purpose, a real impact is made.

Congratulations on your success, Bulldogs!
 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.