April 1 marks the University of North Florida’s 2025 Annual Giving Day and UNF Director of Annual Giving Kristy Herrington and Vice President of Development and Alumni Engagement Teresa Nichols both spoke to the importance of the day for the university and its programs.

Beginning April 1 at noon and ending on April 2 at noon, the special event currently funds around 103 to 104 programs this year, according to Herrington. Nichols said Giving Day is a good opportunity for those donating to learn about the institution itself. 

“Giving Day also drives awareness to the university and all the different programs so by inviting people to come in and support Giving Day with a philanthropic gift, they are also learning so much about the institution,” said Nichols. 

A department that benefits greatly from the donations is the UNF Department of Art, Art History and Design. 

The department’s chair and sculpture professor, Jenny Hager, said, “We are a very active and engaged department, so we try to do a lot of things for our students and we raise money to support those kind of initiatives.”

Herrington said the amount of donations is more significant to her than the amount of money raised.

“We traditionally don’t focus as much on dollars, while of course they’re important, we really like to get participation, so people making a gift of any size,” said Herrington. 

Herrington said this is why students are encouraged to give as well as alumni and those in the community. 

Last year’s donor amount went up to 4,300 donors in the last hour of the event, exceeding the university’s original goal of 4,200 donors. This year, UNF Giving Day’s goal is 4,500 donors.

For more information, or to donate, those interested can visit the UNF Giving Day webpage. 

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