After raising more than $2 million in 24 hours during the 2016 “GivingToHoosDay,” the University of Virginia is once again marking Thomas Jefferson’s birthday with a day of giving. At midnight on April 12 – just one day before the founding father turns 274 – UVA will challenge Wahoos around the world with a donation drive and friendly competition.

“GivingToHoosDay 2017 builds on the success of last year by bringing together even more areas of our University,” said Mark Luellen, the University’s vice president for Advancement. “With over $1 million in matching gifts and challenge funds available, gifts made on April 12 will have an even greater impact on our students and faculty.”

UVA President Teresa A. Sullivan has established a $100,000 challenge fund to kick off the inter-school competition on Wednesday. A running leaderboard on the GivingToHoosDay website will track the donation numbers of all 11 schools and the College at Wise all day so that alumni and friends can log on to see who is in the lead.

The leaderboard will show how donors are helping their schools win their share of the challenge fund of $40,000 in two different competitions. The first competition will award shares of $40,000 based a school’s percentage of total dollars raised; the second competition will award shares of $40,000 based on the school’s percentage of the total number of gifts made. The remaining $20,000 will be used to earn additional funds in hourly competitions throughout the day.

In addition to dollars raised for individual schools, donors can also track the fundraising progress of their favorite UVA programs throughout the day. Organizations like the Cavalier Marching Band, the Maxine Platzer Lynn Women’s Center and Madison House will all be raising funds, and every little bit helps.

“Raising an additional $10,000 because we have a GivingToHoosDay challenge means that we will have the funds we need for supplies and activities for our seventh- and eighth-grade mentoring groups at two of the four local schools that host these programs,” said Leigh Ann Carver, director of communications and advancement at the Women’s Center.

Cavaliers across the country and the world can share which causes are near and dear to their hearts and how they’re supporting them all day with the #GivingToHoosDay hashtag on social media. They can also watch the spread of donations from across the country and the world with University Advancement’s live maps. Whenever a donation comes in from a new state or country, it will change from gray to orange on one of the maps.

“The day is incredibly exciting,” Luellen said. “For these 24 hours, whether you are in Charlottesville, Los Angeles or Hong Kong, GivingToHoosDay 2017 brings us together in support of the university we love. With live feeds on the website, you can track which schools are leading in the fundraising challenges, see when friends make a gift and help us connect alumni and friends from across the globe. Every gift makes a difference.”

All gifts received online or by phone on April 12 will be counted toward the final GivingToHoosDay total. Anyone interested in participating may do so here, or call 1-855-946-4667.