On Tuesday, April 25, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center will hold its third-annual UTHSC Giving Day, a 24-hour campaign that raises funds to support the university and its dedication to building a healthier community.
The goal of UTHSC Giving Day 2023 is 1,100 gifts. “We’re looking towards our internal community — our faculty, staff, and students — as well as our external community — our alumni, community leaders, and friends — all engaging and supporting our organization and our noble mission,” Chancellor Peter Buckley, MD, said.
Donations can be made to support a specific college — Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy — or an initiative or program at UTHSC. Each donation helps UTHSC train an exceptional workforce and improve the health of citizens in Tennessee and beyond.
“The generosity and support of our alumni and community donors can be transformative,” Chancellor Buckley said. “Giving opens doors and creates remarkable opportunities for our great students, faculty, and communities.”
Some donations may be matched, doubling their impact. This year, more than $400,000 is being offered in challenges and matching grants. Two dentistry alumni, Rick Guthrie, DDS, and Debra Gray King, DDS, together made a $50,000 challenge gift, which will be unlocked when the College of Dentistry receives 150 gifts.
“I decided to do the challenge gift along with Dr. Guthrie as a way to encourage my colleagues to support our alma mater and to help future and current students to have similar experiences as me,” Dr. King said. “I received a wonderful education at UTHSC, made lifelong friends, and have been able to support my family in a significant way because of the skills I learned there.”
In the first two years, UTHSC Giving Day surpassed the primary participation goals, raising a total of nearly $600,000 in 2022 and approximately $580,000 in 2021.
Since December 2022, the UTHSC advancement team has increased UTHSC’s fundraising by more than 331%, already surpassing the year-end fundraising target and lining the year up to be one of the top fundraising years in history. Part of the fundraising success came in February through the inaugural UTHSC Family Campaign, a month-long effort that encouraged members of the UTHSC family — faculty and staff — to support their workplace with a financial gift of any size and in any area that is important to them. The campaign had 620 donors, well above the goal of 500.
UTHSC Giving Day follows several recent accomplishments for UTHSC. Among those is the opening of the College of Dentistry’s new $45 million Delta Dental of Tennessee Building, which increases space for training Tennessee’s dental workforce and expands facilities to treat patients. Delta Dental of Tennessee provided $6.3 million for construction costs and $1.4 million for equipment for the building. Generous support from the state and other donations made the building a reality. The building opens as the college is undertaking the $53 million Healthy Smiles Initiative aimed at increasing access to dentists and dental care across Tennessee.
Other great reasons to support UTHSC include:
- UTHSC is the largest educator of health care professionals in Tennessee.
- UTHSC has more than 3,100 students, 3,800 regular and temporary employees, and 380 researchers working on the cures of tomorrow.
- UTHSC has approximately 900 clinical and educational sites in more than 125 locations across Tennessee.
- UTHSC has the largest residency/fellowship program in Tennessee.
- UTHSC generated a record $132 million in grant awards in 2022 for research and scientific discovery.
UTHSC Giving Day is an opportunity to honor these successes and help the university grow and thrive in the future. To participate in UTHSC Giving Day or get more information, go to givingday.uthsc.edu.