By Dillard University
After a final count of more than $800,000 in gifts in 2020, Dillard University is raising the bar for the 2021 GivingTuesday. The annual 24-hour day of online giving will be November 30, 2021. GivingTuesday, which falls on the Tuesday after “Black Friday,” encourages people from around the world to support causes and nonprofit entities through monetary donations.
For Dillard, it has been a special day. “People giving in large numbers to Dillard on GivingTuesday helps us show the world that those who are closest to the University believe in our mission,” says Dr. Marc Barnes, vice president of institutional advancement. “We love GivingTuesday, also, because it helps us tell (Dillard’s) story to people who don’t yet know about this wonderful institution,” says Barnes.
A bulk of the funds raised by Dillard on GivingTuesday have gone toward the S.A.F.E. Fund which supports current students who need help filling in financial gaps to complete their degrees. One dedicated S.A.F.E. Fund supporter, by way of GivingTuesday, has been David Dillard, a University trustee emeritus and descendent of the institution’s namesake, James Hardy Dillard. The University was named for Dillard because of his dedication to improved educational opportunities for former enslaved African Americans and also because he served on the boards of both Straight College and New Orleans University.
