William & Mary’s ninth annual One Tribe One Day is next Tuesday, April 12.
One Tribe One Day offers the opportunity for members of the university community to connect with each other and support the people and programs they care about most at W&M. Each year, the university sees the impact that can come from small acts of giving back and paying it forward as the whole community comes together to celebrate this W&M tradition.
This year, the One Tribe One Day Carnival will return to the Sunken Garden from 3 to 5 p.m. Participants can enjoy free food, live DJ music, a photo booth, inflatables, giveaways and more. Sixteen free, in-person regional events will also offer a great opportunity to connect with fellow alumni, parents, family and friends as we come together for this annual celebration.
An online research showcase at 5 p.m. ET will highlight how William & Mary research projects are impacting the world. The event will include a series of lightning talks from undergraduate, graduate and faculty researchers in anthropology, art history, biology and economics. The showcase will also feature research work at the Global Research Institute and International Justice Lab, James Monroe’s Highland, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the W&M Law School. People interested in participating should register online for the research showcase and visit the One Tribe One Day website to find out more about all the day’s events.
Every gift of any size to any area of the university will help unlock a record $1.5 million in additional funding to support William & Mary’s most pressing needs. Every single person making a gift on One Tribe One Day will be counted toward donor challenges throughout the day. Even the smallest contributions can add up to a big impact. Last year, gifts of $100 and below accounted for nearly $260,000 of the total raised.
Milestone challenges, which unlock after a certain number of donors have made a gift, were sponsored by a generous anonymous donor as well as by Kevin Phillips ’84 and Mary Ruth Phillips ’85, Leanne Kurland ’75 and honorary alumnus Alex Kurland, honorary alumnus J. Goodenow “Goody” Tyler III and Mariel McLeod ’15. The final challenge, for $250,000, will be unlocked when 10,000 donors have made a gift.
Schools and units will also compete in the Gerdelman School & Unit Challenge in the categories of “total donors,” “new donors” and “most improved” — winners will receive $15,000 in funding for their area. One school or unit will receive an honorable mention and $5,000 for taking an innovative or unique approach to the day. The challenge was established by Sue Hanna Gerdelman ’76 and the late John Gerdelman ’75, L.H.D. ’19.
There will also be three texting challenges, sponsored by Vice Rector Will Payne ’01, Rector John Littel and Marianne Littel and Andrea Rinaldi Wassmer ’94 and Michael Wassmer, which will unlock when donors make gifts in response to text messages from W&M.
Additional school and unit challenges include an Alumni Challenge, an A&S Challenge, an Athletics Scholarships Challenge, an International Challenge, a W&M Libraries Challenge, a Parent & Family Challenge, a School of Education participation goal, a Virginia Institute of Marine Science Challenge and a Washington Center Scholarship Challenge.
Last year, more than 10,000 members of the W&M community came together for One Tribe One Day. Donors from all 50 states and 23 countries took part in the effort. Together, they raised $3 million in support of initiatives for more than 700 areas that will transform the student experience and strengthen the university.
On Tuesday, there is an opportunity to make an even greater impact as the university seeks to help surpass its 10,000-donor goal.
All gifts made between 12:01 a.m. ET and 11:59 p.m. PT on April 12 will count toward this year’s total. Follow the day’s progress at wm.edu/otod and on social media using the hashtag #OneTribeOneDay. Participants can also post photos on Instagram and Facebook and stay active on Twitter and LinkedIn. Downloadable graphics and suggested posts are provided on the One Tribe One Day website.
Leslie McCullough received a Master of Business Administration degree from W&M in 2017.