The fourth annual Rebels Give, a campus wide fundraiser, kicked off with the marching band playing as colorful streamers blew in the wind and UNLV’s cheer team chanted in the Pida Plaza.
On Tuesday. April 5, the fundraiser raised $331,294 from 1,430 gifts. Donors to the event came from 40 states and six countries and Nevada gave the most gifts, donating 1,180 gifts.
UNLV was founded in 1957, which gave the event coordinators the idea to give 1,957 minutes for people to donate. The crowd counted down for the fundraiser to start at 9:30 a.m. and was set to go until April 6.
For the duration of the fundraiser, campus-wide groups, departments and organizations came together to rally members of the community to donate to their specific causes. In total, there were 29 groups across campus participating in the event.
The Rebels Give website features a leaderboard that keeps track of how many gifts someone receives, UNLV Athletics receives the most gifts, ranking first with 283. One group on campus that did not receive any gifts during the event was UNLV’s Career Services.
In an instagram post, the College of Liberal Arts said, “Whether it’s $5 or $500, no gift is too small to make a difference. Every gift to #RebelsGive matters. Help us help liberal arts students who are the closest to graduation.”
The College of Liberal Arts received a total of 150 gifts.
Megan Black, UNLV’s director for annual giving, said that she is really excited to see the event return back in-person with events.
“We’ve been working on this fourth annual Rebels Give since last fall,” Black said. “We are really excited to offer some in-person events again this year while increasing engagement and support for UNLV.”
During the Tuesday kickoff in Pida Plaza, university leaders like President Whitfield, Provost Chris Heavey, and more were in attendance to deliver welcome remarks.
At the kickoff President Whitfield spoke about the importance of giving back to the UNLV community.
“UNLV is a place where every dollar counts to making a better education, a better opportunity for people to learn, and just a better environment for us in general,” Whifield said.
After Whitfield spoke, UNLV’s cheer team and band entertained the crowd with their performances. Donuts, refreshments, and Rebels Give shirts were given out at the kickoff.
While the organizers of Rebels Give have stated that they did not have a market goal to reach each year, any and every donation counts for them.
