The 2019 Giving Green campaign is underway, and co-chairs Anne Brown and Jurgen Buchenau are encouraging faculty and staff members to participate.
Giving Green is an annual fall effort that this year benefits the Arts & Science Council and the UNC Charlotte Foundation.
Buchenau, professor and chair of the History Department, stated, “The outside world is paying attention to our workplace giving program, Giving Green. Having a higher participation rate by faculty and staff demonstrates our pride in the University, which can influence external donors to make their own financial commitment.”
In his remarks during Wednesday’s kickoff luncheon in the Popp Martin Student Union, Buchenau touched on several scholarships that benefited history students, including the 49ers Historians Fund, the Pharr-Buchenau Award and the Kings Mountain Scholarship. In the case of the latter two financial awards, possible through outside donors, students use the funding to complete path-breaking archival research globally and locally. He added both are competitive awards that help hone students’ proposal-writing skills, strengthening their candidacy for acceptance to prestigious Ph.D. programs.
Brown, associate vice chancellor for Finance, stressed how employees’ contributions enable the University “to offer the best educational opportunities for our students. In turn, the education we provide prepares our students to be better-informed citizens who go on to change the lives of others. And through our support of the Arts & Science Council, citizens in the Charlotte region benefit from a vibrant cultural life through programming by ASC-funded organizations.”
In 2018, for the first time, Giving Green topped 1,000 unique donors. Brown and Buchenau want that number to reach at least 1,049 this year.
Giving Green launches alongside #NinerNationGives, a 49-hour social media-driven fundraising effort to encourage Niners everywhere to support UNC Charlotte. All faculty and staff gifts to the University during this 49-hour period will count toward #NinerNationGives, and employees will be entered into a special raffle for a chance to possibly win one of 49 prizes.
Making a donation using the Giving Green website enables employees to stretch their contributions across the upcoming calendar year through payroll deduction. Donations to special challenges will unlock additional funds for Niner Nation.
In addition to making a gift to Giving Green, faculty and staff can give of their time via a variety of community service projects. Starting next week and going through October, signature community service projects will be offered through the Community Relations Office in the Division of University Advancement.