2021
9,670 donors
$3 million raised
1,509 new donors
1,875 first-time donors
771 student donors
789 faculty and staff donors
Big Orange Give 2021 saw the most donors to Big Orange Give, as well as a surge in giving from current students. More than 1,100 students came by our Big Orange Give on-campus event to learn about how donors are impacting all areas of campus and how they can become a donor too.
2020
8,095 donors
$2.55 million raised
1,032 first-time donors
405 student donors
692 faculty and staff donors
Big Orange Give 2020 was held in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The needs of our students with food or financial insecurity were magnified by the pandemic, but Vols rallied to support the Student Emergency Fund and the Big Orange Pantry. 2020 broke a record for the number of donors that gave during Big Orange Give.
2019
6,869 donors
$2.55 million raised
1,509 new donors
507 Student donors
In 2019, we celebrated the 225th anniversary of the University of Tennessee during Big Orange Give. We set our goal at $2.25 million and offered over $100,000 that matched donors dollar-for-dollar up to $225. The Volunteer family surpassed our special goal and raised more than $2.5 million.
2018
6,455 donors
$2.14 million raised
1,026 first-time donors
460 student donors
Donors to the 2018 Big Orange Give supported 142 different scholarship funds. That included need-based and merit-based scholarships as well as campus-wide and unit-specific scholarship funds.
2017
4,999 donors
$1.45 million raised
1,629 first-time donors
Jim and Judi Herbert challenged the UT community to raise $500,000 during Big Orange Give. In return, they promised to give $500,000 to the UT Writing Center. The community exceeded the goal, and the Herbert’s gift has revolutionized writing instruction at UT.
2016
4,162 donors
$1.52 million raised
649 first-time donors
VOLstarter, the university’s crowdfunding site, saw a 121% increase in the amount of money raised during Big Orange Give. Three projects were fully funded, including a project for UT senior Payton Miller to pay for paint and supplies to create amazing, original designs on The Rock before each football game.
2015
4,103 donors
$1.46 million raised
946 first-time donors
Alumni Board Chairman Clay Jones offered a true match for the first time during Big Orange Give. Clay matched every gift up to $100 for a total of $10,000. His investment matched 128 gifts that totaled $26,751 and were directed to 43 different UT funds.
2014
1,566 donors
$766,330 raised
327 first-time donors
Big Orange Give raised more than $19,000 for the Pride of the Southland Marching Band, helping to establish the Band Service Scholarship, which awards a scholarship to every member of the Pride. The scholarship amount increases each year the student is a member.
2013
1,630 donors
$250,105 raised
273 first-time donors
Only 54 hours into the campaign, donor support pushed us over the top of our original goal. We were awed when the new $175,000 goal was met less than 48 hours later. When our first Big Orange Give came to an end, the final tally hit $250,105–double our original goal!