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Every Gift Matters

You don't have to write a million-dollar check to help make a big impact in L&S. Giving Back at any level furthers discovery, enriches the student experience and feels great.

by Scott A. Carter January 4, 2022
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This story appeared in the Fall 2021 Letters & Science magazine.

While major philanthropic gifts like endowed professorships and named facilities receive big head­lines, annual gifts to discretionary funds power the everyday innovations occurring throughout the College of Letters & Science.

Just ask Erica Noble, a second-year graduate student in anthropology whose research was funded by the Arvin B. Weinstein Prize, an award supported by gifts to the department’s annual fund. Noble’s work explores the evolution of the pelvis in hominids — the taxonomic family that includes Homo sapiens — and its role in making us a bipedal species.

Noble will present her work at the American Anthropological Association annual meeting in November 2021 in Baltimore, Maryland, which will also be her first time attending a national conference.

“It’s very exciting,” says Noble. “I’m really looking forward to networking with other biological anthropologists. I don’t know that I would have been able to attend without support from the department.”

Or talk to Sissel Schroeder, Professor of Anthropology and former department chair, who has directed gifts to the department’s annual fund toward critical support for student and faculty research.

“Anthropology relies on gifts from our alumni and friends to provide hands-on field and research experiences for our undergraduate and graduate students,” explains Schroeder. She has leveraged annual funds in recent years to support graduate student travel, invite visiting scholars to speak at department colloquia.

The importance of annual giving has increased greatly over the past few years, driven by social media campaigns like Day of the Badger and Fill the Hill. Launched in 2019, Day of the Badger brings the UW community together in celebration of their shared connection to campus, raising spirits as well as funds to support the university’s mission. (Not to brag, but L&S led campus in the number of gifts and revenue raised for both the 2019 and 2021 campaigns.)

Fill the Hill, the annual fall fundraiser that adds a pink flamingo to Bascom Hill every time a gift is made, is another highly anticipated digital campaign; these are a growing part of the College’s advancement strategy. In 2020, 29 percent of gifts to the College and its depart­ments were made online, a 55 percent increase since 2017. While most gifts continue to arrive by physical mail, online giving and social media allow supporters to give publicly and share their love of UW with alumni and friends around the globe.

Ambassadors play a key role. Seap Bhardwaj (BA, Economics/Political Science, ’21) served as a social media ambassador for the Department of Political Science during the 2021 Day of the Badger campaign.

I want to see the Badgers who come after me succeed.

“Over the past four years, I have been able to participate in amazing opportunities, all thanks to support from political science,” says Bhardwaj. “I wanted to encourage others to give back!”

Another ambassador during last year’s Day of the Badger campaign was Louis Holland, Jr., a longtime L&S supporter and current chair of the L&S Board of Visitors.

“As a member of the College of Letters & Science’s Board of Visitors, I get to hear firsthand about all of the amazing work taking place on campus,” he shared with followers. “Our faculty have launched startups that will power the Wisconsin economy for decades to come, and they ensure that L&S students will leave Madison prepared for whatever lies ahead.”

For young alumni, small gifts allow them to establish a philanthropic relationship with their department or College early in their careers while also making an immediate impact on the next generation. “I want to see the Badgers who come after me succeed,” says Claire Allen (BA ’14). “I loved my time as a student at UW-Madison and want to do my small part to ensure that others have a great experience.”