UCalgary comes together to help United Way raise more than $370,000 for communities in need

The University of Calgary community came through once again for United Way in 2023, raising $372,431, exceeding the preceding year’s donations and the year’s goal.

The main objective for the campaign was to drive donations to United Way’s Community Impact Fund, which provides stable funding to more than 120 agencies, ensuring Calgarians can access services and support when and where they need them. 

The UCalgary community organized various events to promote participation and encourage people to donate. These included bake sales, raffles, silent auctions and the brand-new Sparks of Gratitude campaign. 

Community connection was vital to the campaign’s success, says Amanda Affonso, associate vice-president, alumni, community and partnerships. “It’s so wonderful to see UCalgary come together and support the Calgary community. So many people dedicated a great deal of time and effort to ensuring the campaign was a success,” says Affonso, BA’00. 

Community support

The success of the 2023 fundraising campaign would not have been possible without the dedicated members of UCalgary’s United Way Cabinet, led by John Alho and Dr. Ellen Perrault, BSW’93, MSW’95, PhD’09. The cabinet is a committee of UCalgary volunteers taking on the responsibility of leading fundraising efforts within each respective faculty or unit. It also includes Leadership Giving co-chairs Courtney McVie, BA’07, BComm’07, and Dr. Dianne Gereluk, MA’99, PhD. Through special events, cabinet members organized engaging activities that raised $35,178 for the campaign.

The Faculty of Science, for example, led collaborative fundraising efforts by bringing 16 faculties together to collect more than $4,000 in prizes.

Other special events included a campus-wide 50/50 raffle where the prize was more than $7,000. The generous contribution of creativity, passion and effort from cabinet members plays a significant role in bringing the campus community together each year.

Sharing gratitude

UCalgary’s Sparks of Gratitude campaign, previously known as Give ‘n’ Thanks, was refreshed and launched in October. The campaign was a fun way to show appreciation for colleagues while supporting United Way at the same time. 

A total of 1,750 printed “Sparks” were sold on campus. Donors filled them in with messages of thanks and encouragement and delivered them to individuals of their choice. 

“The Sparks of Gratitude campaign was an exciting way to donate and share messages of appreciation with colleagues. I think people really enjoyed seeing the sparks showing up across campus,” says Affonso.

Awards

A wrap-up event in celebration of the campaign took place Jan. 23, where the total fundraising amount was announced and awards were presented to faculties and units that were successful in their campaigns:

• Very Special Events award: This award is given to the faculty or unit raising the most money through special events.
  • 1^st place: Cumming School of Medicine
  • 2^nd place: Libraries and Cultural Resources
  • 3^rd place: Haskayne School of Business
• Leader in Leadership Donors award: This award is given to the faculty or unit with the largest number of Leadership Giving donations, which is any donations between $1,200 and $10,000.
  • 1^st place: Cumming School of Medicine
  • 2^nd place: Faculty of Arts
  • 3^rd place: Haskayne School of Business
• Hard Core award: This award is given to the faculty or unit with the largest number of core donors, which is any donations less than $1,200.
  • 1^st place: Cumming School of Medicine
  • 2^nd place: Office of Advancement
  • 3^rd place: Faculty of Arts
• Mover and Shaker award: This award is given to the faculty or unit who has seen the biggest growth in pledged donations and donors over the previous years.
  • 1^st place: Faculty of Law
  • 2^nd place: Faculty of Kinesiology
  • 3^rd place: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

Also announced at the event were the recipients of and finalists for the Cannon Challenge Cup. The challenge is named in honor of former UCalgary President Elizabeth Cannon for her devotion to the university’s community engagement efforts. The award is based on the amount of money raised in employee donations and special events, as well as participation level throughout the campaign. 

The honorees for the 2023 Cannon Challenge Cup are:

• 1^st place: UCalgary International
• 2^nd place: Office of Advancement
• 3^rd place: Libraries and Cultural Resources