Faculty and staff get behind Giving Day

For Dr. Jennifer Winter, Giving Day is personal. Every year, the professor at the School of Public Policy and Department of Economics takes advantage of the University of Calgary fundraising campaign’s matching incentives and makes contributions to student awards.

“I definitely have a vested interest in ensuring that we get the best and brightest in our graduate program, and student support is part of that,” says Winter, BA’05, MA’07, PhD’11. “We have great students. It’s satisfying to be able to support these students who are generally quite awesome and who I enjoy teaching.

“Students are our future.”

UCalgary Giving Day, which runs April 9-23 this year, provides donors the opportunity to have their gifts go further with gift matching, bonus funds and more — all while matching funds last.

And UCalgary’s internal community is always a dedicated source of support. During Giving Day 2025, 766 faculty and staff members raised more than $400,000.

“Since its launch in 2017, Giving Day has had an incredible impact at UCalgary,” says Concetta Sonnenberg, BA’05, MA’09, director of development with the Annual and Leadership Giving team. “Support for initiatives across all faculties has flourished, in no small part due to the contributions from our faculty and staff. Not only do they contribute through their day-to-day work, but they also give generously to funds that personally appeal to them.”

For Sonnenberg, that fund is the Faculty of Arts’ Barbara Schneider Student Writing Award, established in honour of former Communications, Media and Film Studies department head Dr. Barbara Schneider, MA’93, PhD’97, who was Sonnenberg’s thesis supervisor.

“She was the most amazing woman and a big influence on my life,” she recalls of Schneider, who passed away in 2025. “Barbara taught me that you can do anything you put your mind to. Guided by curiosity and determination, she kept learning and growing — becoming fluent in German and earning acclaim as a textile artist in her 60s. Extraordinary and, at the same time, so deeply humble.”

Power in numbers — and in monthly giving

Many UCalgary faculty and staff save their donations for Giving Day to take advantage of gift matching, while others commit to a recurring gift, donating monthly for ongoing impact with funds that can be counted on year-round. 

This year, they can have the best of both worlds. In honour of UCalgary’s 60th anniversary, new monthly donors who sign up between April 9 and 23 will have their gifts matched for the first 12 months, up to $60 per gift — directing up to $720 more to their chosen fund.

Giving Day also offers a faculty and staff-exclusive incentive, with $2,500 unlocked for funds that reach 20 faculty and staff donors.

“It really brings colleagues together,” says Sonnenberg, whose team organizes Giving Day each year. “The Faculty of Science ran with that one, encouraging faculty and staff to ‘Stay up late for Science’ and give as soon as the site went live. We saw a lot of gifts come in right at midnight!” 

Collective impact behind Giving Day success

Those gifts add up to make a big impact, no matter the size, no matter the donor’s chosen area — or areas, as many support multiple funds.

In addition to Winter’s annual donations to the Giving Day Graduate Scholarship in the Master of Public Policy and the Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Development Scholarship, she gives to the Martin Sadlon Memorial Bursary in Music and the Department of Economics Impact Fund.

Winter, who also supports off-campus causes, says it’s not the dollar amount that matters. “It all makes a difference,” she says. “I’m an economist, so I fully believe in marginal effects — every little bit counts.”

Brooke Bentham, a graphic designer with UCalgary’s Brand Experience team, agrees. “You don’t have to give a lot of money to UCalgary funds, but every dollar is appreciated, I’m sure,” she says. “If enough people are giving, then certainly it makes an impact.”

Bentham remembers her first donation, made to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM) — and still has the commemorative button she received for it pinned up at her desk.

Nine years later, she continues to support UCVM on Giving Day. “My interests lie in animal welfare, so it aligns really well,” says Bentham. “It’s in my realm of interest and I’m really proud of everything they do there.”

She appreciates being able to specify which UCVM initiatives she’d like to support. In 2025, she gave to the UCVM Community Care Clinic. Before that? The Equine Health Fund, Bovine Health Fund and the Northern Community Health Rotation. “It’s very small amounts, but it’s nice that I know where that money is directly going,” says Bentham. “I tell anyone who will listen, ‘Hey, look, the university is doing some very cool stuff for animals.’”

Bentham also contributes to the Students’ Greatest Needs Fund, which provides immediate emergency financial assistance to those facing unexpected crises, such as food insecurity or housing instability.

“It’s a wonderful initiative,” she says. “If I can give a little to help them out, I really like to do that.”