Paying it Forward

It’s sometimes hard to know the impact of giving, because the benefits don’t always become obvious right away. But without alumni and friends of the university understanding how important it is to give back, our student lives would be much different.

One example of the power of giving is scholarships. Have you ever received a scholarship from UO? It’s more than likely that was possible because someone donated the money for it. The Pathway Oregon Scholarship, for instance, supported 415 students last year. This year, with the generous help from donors, supports over 600 students. That is a lot of lives changed because of the kindness of past Ducks.

But giving doesn’t stop at scholarships, although that would be amazing enough. As a Duck, you can understand the passion students have for UO. Have you ever had a class in HEDCO, the education building? If you haven’t yet you likely will. It is a beautiful building that was only made possible because of UO alumni and friends understanding the importance of giving back. All told, gifts from more than 300 alumni, community educators, and members of the UO faculty and staff covered about 60 percent of construction costs. And if you didn’t already know, UO College of Education is the number two program in the country. What a great investment!

HEDCO is only one of many examples of buildings that were made possible by donors. Lillis is another building that was constructed because of alum and friends of UO who gave back. 90 percent of the building costs were financed by private gifts.

Donating to a non-profit like the University of Oregon seems pointless unless you’re able to give millions and millions of dollars. But that’s simply not true. There are hundreds of thousands of UO alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends that give just a few dollars when they can and that makes all the difference to the well being of students and the campus in general. Every gift is important and appreciated, and it really does change lives.