- Author: Melissa G. Womack
The day that inspires acts of generosity is here again on Nov. 28 it's Giving Tuesday, and we hope you support the UC Master Gardener Program in its 8th year of participating!
Giving Tuesday is a global movement that takes place every year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. November is the month of gratitude and a time we reflect on all we are grateful for in our lives. Gratefulness for what we have often leads to a desire to give back to organizations that improve lives.
The UC Master Gardener Program helps create gardening resources, virtual workshops and empowers gardeners to support food banks, schools, and community gardens. Many studies illustrate the benefits of gardening on health and how important it is to get outside and be around green spaces. Through gardening education, the UC Master Gardener Program allows participants to spend more time outdoors, which improves mental and physical health. Your support helps us to continue evolving this education and give back to our community through workshops for all ages, resources for every gardener, and produce donations for those in need.
How can you help? Here are a few simple ideas:
- Join us and donate. Your gift can be applied directly to support your local county program.
- Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for exciting updates. Tag @UCMasterGarden and include the hashtags #GivingTuesday and #GiveBack.
- Please share this message with friends and family and encourage them to join the movement!
We're asking you to join us in supporting the UC Master Gardener Program by helping spread the word to friends and family who want to support you in making an impact. Thank you for all you do for the UC Master Gardener Program and for joining the #GivingTuesday movement! For more information visit: ucanr.edu/givingtuesday
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Giving Tuesday is Nov. 28. Giving Tuesday, a global generosity movement, unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities, is held annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. It presents an opportunity for us to encourage supporters to donate to UC ANR programs and projects.
Here is your checklist to prepare:
- Register your participation for Giving Tuesday. This ensures you will receive all campaign updates, you can sign up to receive real-time gift notifications on the day, and helps us to better track social media reach. Follow the link to the registration survey below.
- Get the Campaign-In-A-Box Toolkit. Inside you'll find tailored materials organized by Program/Group. The Editorial Calendar will help you plan what to post, and when, leading up to and on Giving Tuesday. Follow the link to the Box file below.
- Review your gift funds by Nov. 10 on Online Express using the donate button on the website to ensure your donors can select from the proper funds. To make edits to gift funds, email gifts@ucanr.edu.
- Watch the recorded webinar “Giving Tuesday: Hot Topics and Tips for Success” for more information.
More ways to earn money for your program
Donor Challenge: $500 prize to the 10 funds that have the greatest number of unique donors for Giving Tuesday.
Donation Challenge: $500 prize to the first 4 funds that secure an individual $500+ donation on Giving Tuesday.
In-It-To-Win-It Challenge: $500 prize to the 1 funds that raise the most on Giving Tuesday.
4-H Match: $20,000 available for a dollar-for-dollar match up to $3,000 per county, starting at midnight until the fund is depleted on Giving Tuesday.
Please note, only online gifts made on Tuesday, Nov 28, from midnight to 11:59 p.m. qualify toward prize challenge awards.
For more information, please contact Emily Delk, director of Annual Giving & Donor Stewardship, at eddelk@ucanr.edu or (916) 564-4862.
- Author: Anne Schellman
Thanks to donations from readers like you, our Pollinator Gardening project raised a total of $1,000. This amount will go towards our garden signage and pathway. We've sent out narrowleaf milkweed seed packets, which you should receive in the mail soon. Now is a great time to plant these seeds! As you've read, milkweed is the sole food source for monarch butterfly caterpillars. We are excited about the possibility of seeing these gorgeous yellow, black, and white caterpillars in our garden in the near future!
Next steps for the Pollinator Garden include adding mulch (next week!), planting more plants, and figuring out best ways to label the plants. Many of the native plants have their original name tags, so feel free to stop by. The garden is located on the west side of the Stanislaus Building at the Ag Center.
In the coming weeks we will add pollinator plants that are not native, but that have the same water requirements.
If you visit, don't let the lack of pathways stop you! Stroll right through and take a look. The plants are small now, but we expect spring blooms, and in another year they will have doubled in size. We will continue to update you on the progress of the garden
Missed Giving Tuesday but still want to give? You still can. Please make checks out to:
UC Regents and send to:
UCCE Stanislaus County Master Gardener Program
3800 Cornucopia Way, Ste A
Modesto, CA 95358
We still have plenty of milkweed seed packets left to send.
Thank you!
- Author: Emily Delk
We are still tallying the final results, but as of 11:59 p.m. on GivingTuesday 2021, our generous donors helped raise $114,310 for UC Cooperative Extension and the statewide programs, institutes and research centers that make up UC ANR.
An additional $40,000 was made available to incentivize giving to our programmatic and research initiatives at the state and local levels. This included $20,000 in matching funds provided by the California 4-H Foundation and donations from 4-H Foundation Board members designated for the 4-H program. It also included $20,000 in funds raised throughout the year for our ANR Incentive Fund, which is used to encourage donor engagement and increased giving to all ANR programs.
Donations received on GivingTuesday will support UC ANR programs addressing important issues impacting all Californians such as ensuring a safe, equitable and accessible food system; the impacts of drought and fire on our rural and urban communities; and engaging young people in activities that will build resilience, science literacy and leadership skills for the 21st century.
These investments in UC ANR will help us bring practical, trusted answers to more residents across our state.
Again, thank you for supporting this fundraising effort, which benefits all of us and California. We look forward to announcing winners of the prize challenges next week.
Emily Delk
Director of Annual Giving and Donor Stewardship
University of California
Agriculture and Natural Resources
2801 Second Street
Davis, CA 95618
Cell: 916-564-4862
eddelk@ucanr.edu
- Author: Anne Schellman
We will keep you updated on our progress through this blog as well as on social media via Facebook, Instagram, and/or our twitter page @UCMGStanislaus.
Many subscribers to this newsletter gave to this campaign, thank you! If you missed your chance to donate, you can still send a check to support the demonstration garden campaign. Please make checks payable to
UC Regents and send them to:
UCCE Stanislaus County Master Gardener Program
3800 Cornucopia Way, Ste A
Modesto, CA 95358
Thank you!