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04/09/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 04/09/2026 22:06

BU Raises Record-Setting $5 Million During 12th Annual Giving Day

BU Raises Record-Setting $5 Million During 12th Annual Giving Day

More than 12,700 members of the BU community donated to hundreds of causes across the University

President Mellisa Gilliam (center) poses with students and Rhett at the Giving Day pep rally at the George Sherman Union, Wednesday, April 8. Organizations from across the University led on-campus activities on Giving Day, encouraging the BU community to support any of hundreds of represented causes.

Giving

BU Raises Record-Setting $5 Million During 12th Annual Giving Day

More than 12,700 members of the BU community donated to hundreds of causes across the University

April 9, 2026
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More than 12,700 donors raised over $5 million during Boston University's 12th Giving Day on Wednesday, April 8, breaking the record for both donors and dollars previously set on Giving Day 2025. Alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff, and friends of BU from 51 countries and 49 states contributed during this annual philanthropic event, consistently BU's largest fundraising day of the year.

Eager donors started the momentum early, pushing BU over the $1 million mark by 8 am, more than two hours earlier than BU reached this milestone in 2025. By noon, well over 5,000 individual donors had made a gift.

"BU Giving Day is one of my favorite days of the year. It is when all our communities join to advocate for BU and make gifts to the areas that mean the most to them," says Michele Schiele (COM'89), senior vice president for Advancement. "I want to thank every BU community member and advocate for helping us achieve our aspirational goals-their support made this Giving Day our most successful yet."

As in past years, Advocates are crucial to the success of Giving Day. This year, 678 Terriers raised their hands as Advocates, encouraging their personal and professional networks to support their favorite causes, bringing in 3,749 donors and $307,184 on Wednesday, a huge increase in participation and fundraising from Giving Day 2025. Terrier Motorsport earned the top spot in the Advocate Signup Challenge; Nate Lee (Pardee'28), a member of the BU a cappella group The Dear Abbeys, brought in the most donors as an Advocate; and Amy Markov-Wieand (COM'97) raised the most dollars (for BU Academy) through her Advocate link. All three won $1,000 in bonus funds for their groups.

"We are so grateful to the BU community for their generosity, through making gifts to the causes they care about most, and for sharing the importance of Giving Day with their friends, family, and colleagues," says Kellie Sullivan, executive director of annual giving. "It means more to new donors when they know they're supporting a cause that has personal significance to their friends and family. The more we advocate for BU within our networks, the larger the BU community becomes."

Challenges and donation matches added an element of competition between and camaraderie within organizations to amplify donations, with over $1.6 million in bonus funds available-the highest total in the history of BU Giving Day-through 88 challenges and matches, and donors were encouraged to fund new gift challenges and matches throughout the day. Several groups secured multiple awards and had runaway success with fundraising. Among the highlights:

  • The Dear Abbeys and Terrier Motorsport won the most challenges overall-each winning five categories-including advocate-led giving, hourly challenges, and participation in the Terrier scavenger hunt that took place on Monday, April 6. The groups earned $8,500 and $4,050 in bonus funds, respectively.
  • Athletics led the pack among programs and causes, bringing in both the most dollars and donors, raising $1.3 million from more than 2,500 people. Club Sports was close behind with over 2,300 individual donors.
  • Several schools and colleges surpassed their donor goals, including the College of Arts & Sciences, the Goldman School of Dental Medicine, the School of Law, the School of Theology, and, most notably, Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, which topped its donor goal by 156 percent, bringing in $55,200 from 450 people.
  • The College of Fine Arts topped schools and colleges in dollars raised with over $550,000, and the College of Arts & Sciences secured the most donors with 1,250 people making gifts to CAS programs.
  • The 50th reunion class continues to be enthusiastic in their support for BU students, raising over $7,700 from 31 donors, an increase from 2025.
  • Alumni made up 30 percent of donors this Giving Day, contributing to hundreds of causes, including the BU Alumni Association Scholarship, established by the BU Alumni Council in 2023, which raised nearly $20,000 on Wednesday.

Many alumni chose to give to the areas that affected their time at BU, including Schiele. "For me, I chose my college-College of Communication-Gamma Phi Beta, and our new student launchpads," she says. "Those are the areas and activities that made a difference in my student experience." With over 750 causes raising funds this year, all donors, no matter their connection to BU, were encouraged to support the areas that resonate with them most.

Both the Charles River and Medical Campuses were abuzz with activity on Wednesday-several schools, departments, and student groups tabled to highlight the importance of philanthropy to their work, some even braving the chilly temps to table outside, catching passersby on Commonwealth Ave. BU hosted pep rallies at the George Sherman Union and FitRec on the Charles River Campus, with games, a photo booth, swag giveaways, and special guest appearances from President Gilliam, BU's beloved mascot Rhett, and BUPD's always-charming community resource dog Bean.

Boston University Police Department Officer Geo Chevere (left) takes photos of students with BUPD community resource dog Bean at the Giving Day pep rally on Wednesday, April 8. Bean was one of many special guests who stopped by the George Sherman Union, encouraging students, staff, faculty, and families to support the University causes most meaningful to them.

Classics and History double major Billy Conroy (CGS'24, CAS'26) represented his organization, the Undergraduate Classics Association (UCA), at the GSU during the Giving Day pep rally. According to Conroy-in his third year with the UCA and currently serving as vice president-the group is open to any BU undergraduate with an appreciation for the classics. "Helping keep the classics alive is so important in this day and age," he says. The funds raised on Giving Day will help support UCA's most popular event, a year-end performance of various ancient works by students in Ancient Greek and Latin courses, planned in collaboration with the Department of Classical Studies.

Also tabling at the GSU were Ali Gold (Sargent'20) and Kyra Leininger (CAS'26), representing the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation (CPR), a research, training, and service organization within Sargent College that supports students and community members overcoming psychiatric disabilities. According to Gold, a training associate with the center, their purpose for tabling on Giving Day was twofold. "We want the BU community to know that we are a resource on campus for students who could use extra support overcoming mental health challenges," she says. "And we are fundraising for financial aid and scholarships to provide access to our programs."

Some of CPR's support resources, like peer academic coaching, are available at no cost to students. Leininger serves as a peer coach at the center, employing evidence-based coaching techniques to help fellow students take action-oriented steps toward their mental, physical, social, and academic wellness goals. "This is something I really could have benefited from as a student myself," she says. "Our coaching is tailored to the student and what goals they want to reach."

Other CPR programs like professional coaching and the semester-long intensive NITEO program-which provides wellness and academic support for students returning from leaves of absence-have enrollment costs, which donors can help offset. "We've never had to turn someone away for inability to pay," says Gold. Donor support "ensures that everyone has access to our community, our resiliency-building resources, and quality mental health." The center raised over $12,000 on Giving Day, part of Sargent College's impressive overall fundraising efforts.

All gifts made through midnight EDT on Wednesday, April 8, counted toward the Giving Day total. However, it's never too late to support Boston University by making a gift at give.bu.edu/giving-day.

Sarah Leithner is an executive assistant for alumni engagement with BU Advancement. She can be reached at [email protected].

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Boston University published this content on April 09, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on April 10, 2026 at 04:06 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]