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A record 1,394 young alumni made gifts to ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ as part of the IGNITE Challenge in March, exceeding the 1,200 donor goal and helping to bring in $480,939 to the university. By surpassing the donor goal, young alumni enabled ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ to receive bonus gifts totaling $40,000 from ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ alumna and trustee Kerrii Anderson '79 and a group of nine young alumni. ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ is grateful to all young alumni who participated in the Challenge.

ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ honored its generous donors and students who benefit from philanthropy at the university’s Scholarship Dinner in McKinnon Hall on Feb. 28. The annual event gives donors the opportunity to meet with their student scholarship recipients and see firsthand the power of scholarships to change lives.

Talk to any ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ alumnus about his or her time at ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ and you’ll typically be greeted with a grin and a lengthy gush about a top-notch education, wonderful experiences, and lifelong friendships. Yet that enthusiasm hasn’t translated into a healthy alumni annual giving percentage for the university. That’s exactly what ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ’s Alumni Giving Outreach initiative seeks to address.

The generosity of ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ employees has fueled the success of this year's Faculty/Staff Campaign. The annual giving drive runs through May 31.

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp) has made a major gift to support endowment for the ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ Academy, a college-access and academic enrichment program run by ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ that encourages Alamance County high school students with significant financial need to earn college degrees and serve their communities.

The Alamance Foundation recently presented a $2,200 gift to the ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ Academy to be used to support college visits for more than 75 ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ Academy scholars during the summer of 2011.

Capital Bank Charitable Foundation made a $3,500 gift to the ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ Academy in December to support the program's financial literacy programs for more than 120 scholars and their families.

Alumni have made more than 100 gifts to the university after viewing ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ's Real Alumni of Genius video, the second in a series of videos this year that will highlight the importance of annual giving. Check out this new video featuring three ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ presidents and one faculty rock star: