By Callie Ewing, BA ’03 MH ’22

In this time of growth and optimism for UD, as we prepare to inaugurate our 10th president next month, we are excited about the upcoming North Texas Giving Day on Sept. 23 as another opportunity to show support for our students. Here are five things to know about this year’s North Texas Giving Day (NTGD), organized by the Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT):   

1. You don’t have to wait until Sept. 23 to make your gift! Giving opened on Sept. 1, so you can give now.

2. Gifts go toward our Cor Scholarship Fund​​, which provides the university with flexible scholarship dollars that can be awarded to students in need. Of our undergraduates, 96% receive some sort of financial aid, so this is an area of deep need. The Cor Scholarship Fund ensures students like 2021 graduates Amandhi, Noah, Blaise and Claire succeed in their pursuit of truth, wisdom and virtue — the cor (or heart) of a UD education.

3. Our goal is to raise $400,000 from 700 individuals and families by midnight Sept. 23. Last year, UD ranked first among all colleges and universities, and sixth among nearly 400 schools, for both total funds raised and number of gifts received, thanks to the generosity of our community — in fact, renewing our unofficial title as “the most generous university community” for the eighth year. Last year, with $338,795 raised from 618 gifts — a dollar amount more than three times 2019’s figure — 2020 marked the university’s most successful NTGD yet. In 2019, UD raised $101,512 from 431 gifts. 

4. Your gift will have an even greater impact, thanks to a $50,000 matching gift from Nick Serafy, UD trustee and former parent, along with his wife, Viveca.

5. Visit northtexasgivingday.org/university-of-dallas to support UD now through Sept. 23! 

At UD, our community is one of our greatest blessings. As Amandhi put it, “My greatest achievements at UD are the relationships I take with me.” This North Texas Giving Day, let us bolster our students so that they may develop these relationships, while we show them the strength of the community behind them.