2024 University of Georgia graduates embody a culture of giving
Senior Signature campaign raises more than $100,000 for students, campus funds.
Every spring, the University of Georgia graduating class contributes a gift to the university to mark their legacy on campus for generations of students to come. The Class of 2024 has continued this tradition with a strong showing of support for their soon-to-be alma mater. For the fourth year in a row, over 3,000 student-donors contributed to the Senior Signature campaign.
This year, 3,201 members of the 2024 class contributed over $100,000 through Senior Signature, the university’s class gift program that has been in place since 1991. Undergraduate, graduate and professional students participate in the campaign.
“My fellow members of the Class of 2024 have demonstrated the importance of devoting time and energy to their passions,” said Caroline Reedy, outgoing president of the UGA Student Alumni Council. “We all know how important it is to leave things better than we found them, and the Class of 2024 has truly shown their commitment to campus, even as they are getting ready to leave it.”
The minimum Senior Signature donation is $30 and serves as an opportunity for students to learn how financial support can be designated to a variety of funds across campus. Each student donor is invited to direct $20 of their gift to an area of campus that made a positive impact on their time here. This year, students contributed to 621 funds at UGA. Among those funds were the Undergraduate Student Emergency Fund and the Sunshine Fund, both geared toward supporting holistic student well-being on campus.
The remaining $10 of a student’s donation is combined with other class members’ gifts to provide grant funding to a student organization of the group’s choice. This year, student donors selected XChanged Life to receive the grant during the upcoming academic year. The organization plans to host an event tailored to exchange, international, and UGA students, with the aim of exposing more international students to American culture, facilitating cultural exchange, and promoting greater interconnectedness among the student population at UGA.
In addition to supporting future generations of Bulldogs, student donors’ names will be engraved on the Class of 2024 plaque in Tate Plaza, just steps away from Sanford Stadium, Tate Student Center and Memorial Hall. The plaque will be installed ahead of Spring Commencement.
The tradition of student giving
Reedy and fellow members of the UGA Student Alumni Council engage their peers throughout the year to connect with alumni and to participate in campus traditions that enhance the student experience. They also strive to impress upon other students the importance of giving back philanthropically to UGA.
Their efforts, which include hosting fundraising events, peer-to-peer education via social media and email, and tabling on campus during the 2023-2024 academic year, help to engage their peers throughout their time at UGA.
“Students have a lot of opportunities to give back beyond the Senior Signature program,” said Reedy. “Initiatives like Beat Week, Dawg Day of Giving, and other special fundraising campaigns give students the opportunity to leave their mark on this university in a way that best suits them and their experiences here.”
To learn more about Senior Signature, go to alumni.uga.edu/seniorsignature.
