A photo of three women standing behind a table with and two women standing on the other side of it. The table has pom poms, cups, and other VCU-branded swag for people to take. To the left of the table is a multi colored prize wheel.
A Giving Day celebration event at the Compass helped highlight the ways VCU’s donors provide invaluable support for its mission. (Kirk Nawrotzky, Development and Alumni Relations)

April 28, 2025

More than 5,000 donors support VCU’s fourth annual Giving Day

Gifts total nearly $10 million and include contributions from almost 1,300 first-time donors.

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By Catherine Brown
Office of Development and Alumni Relations

On April 22, Virginia Commonwealth University celebrated its fourth annual Giving Day, bringing together friends near and far to support more than 90 initiatives across the MCV and Monroe Park campuses. By midnight, 5,202 supporters had made 4,953 gifts totaling $9,876,297.

Gifts of all amounts from alumni, students, faculty, staff, retirees, grateful patients, team members, family and friends contributed to a successful Giving Day. Almost 1,300 donors made their first gift to VCU, and almost 1,500 gifts were made for less than $50.

Altogether, donors contributed $6.8 million to student-support funds.

“The entire VCU community and I are grateful for the tremendous number of generous donors who provide the resources, programs and initiatives that make an incredibly important  difference for all of us in our hardworking community,” said VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D. “Donor support is vital to enable the university to support student success, research that saves and improves lives, and patient care. Our donors are catalyzing the positive impact of our mission as a public research university and health system. Thanks to our donors, we are able to make investments, build on our momentum and create impact tomorrow, far beyond anything we can imagine today.”

New this year: Supporters could sign up to become advocates. They shared a specially generated link with their networks, asking friends, family and colleagues to join them in making a Giving Day gift. Advocates encouraged almost 300 donors to make gifts.

“VCU donors continue to amaze me with their commitment to improving the lives of people on both of our campuses and beyond,” said Jay E. Davenport, vice president of Development and Alumni Relations. “Thank you to all who pitched in to make Giving Day a success and make a difference for the VCU community.”

Giving Day took place during Philanthropy Week, when the VCU community recognizes the generosity of the many donors who help make VCU a better place. The week’s events included activities for students to learn more about philanthropy.  

Did you miss Giving Day? That’s OK. You can support VCU any day of the year at support.vcu.edu.