KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — As part of the University of Tennessee's 225th anniversary, its annual Big Orange Give said it was able to collect its goal of $2.25 million in one day. Now, they are seeing how far they can go before midnight.
The Big Orange Give, which is happening Wednesday, is an annual fundraising event during which the university invites people on-campus and off-campus to donate. Contributors can specify that their donations are for specific programs, centers or college. Or, they can donate to a general campus fund.
Donations made between 5 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Wednesday were matched. Josh Dobbs, former Vols quarterback, also said that he will match up to $5,000 in gifts made through a link on his Twitter page.
Since $1.25 million was raised, the Regal Foundation, as well as Richard and Mary Antonucci, contributed another $1 million to Tennessee Pledge scholarships, which led to them raising to the goal of $2.25 million.
DONATE: bigorangegive.utk.edu
While the goal is met, people can still give. This year, donors will also be able to make gifts through PayPal.
The university held special events to raise funds. Students were able to participate in events on Pedestrian Walkway and participate in a guessing contest where they will guess the number of donors. The person who guessed the closest to the number of donors received an Alumni Prize Pack.
Different programs have different goals on the Big Orange Give donation web page. Contributions made to specific colleges still count towards the general goal of $2.25 million. Donors can also give to programs, funds or schools that may not have a listed goal on Big Orange Give's web page.
The university broke past last year's goal of $2 million in one day. It raised $2.1 million in donations, with most of the gifts below $100.
DONATE: bigorangegive.utk.edu