UOG ‘G is for Giving’ campaign raises over $20K

MANGILAO, Guam—The University of Guam community, in cooperation with the University of Guam Endowment Foundation, raised over $20,000 during its inaugural “G is for Giving” Campaign—an annual drive for scholarships for the students of the University of Guam.

This monthlong campaign, which kicked off on Nov. 28, 2017, and lasted until Dec. 31, 2017, involved students, faculty, retired faculty, alumni, and community members from Guam and the U.S. mainland to raise money for each of the University of Guam’s five college units and the UOG Athletics Program.

“Si yu’os ma’åse’ to all those who generously gave to the UOG’s ‘G is for Giving’ annual giving campaign,” said university president Robert A. Underwood. “We look forward to even more success in the coming years as we build a stronger university and stronger community.”

Gifts ranged from $2 to $2,500. The largest individual donor was a retired professor living in the state of Washington. In fact, retired professors made up 30.3 percent of the “G is for Giving” total amount raised, which will be used to increase a scholarship fund they established in 2010.

The college unit to raise the most money was the School of Business and Public Administration.

“If we could get our students closer to completing their studies by helping in this way, we contribute to a public good that our island and region could benefit from,” said SBPA dean Annette Taijeron Santos. “Our students are our future. We are so fortunate to have a vibrant and caring community at SBPA with strong connections to our business and government stakeholders.”

The School of Business and Public Administration is housed in the Jesus and Maria Eugenia Leon Guerrero Building, a building donated by the founders of the Bank of Guam and a continued supporter of University of Guam.

For the G is for Giving campaign, the Bank of Guam marketing team conducted a training workshop attended by students who later set up donation collection tables on Giving Tuesday. From Giving Tuesday until Dec. 31, donations were collected on the UOG Endowment Foundation website, www.supportuog.org, through the mail and in person, using “UOG Green” envelopes specifically ordered for the month.

“The community came together to make this…scholarship fundraising a success. We thank all of those who donated. As our student body grows, efforts like these become more and more critical to keep higher education on Guam growing along with it,” said Melanie Mendiola, executive director of the University of Guam Endowment Foundation.
The University of Guam Endowment Foundation is non-profit organization that has been supporting the work of the University of Guam through fundraising and community engagement since 1988. The foundation is currently under the leadership of executive director Melanie Mendiola.

To make a donation, log on to www.supportuog.org. For more information, contact 671.735.2957 or email info@uogendowment.org. (UOG)