Scholarships

Last month, the UC Merced Alumni Association (UCMAA) established the UC Merced Alumni Association Journey Endowment with $25,000 it collected through fundraising efforts to support initiatives throughout campus.

Over the past several years, UC Merced alumni — especially UCMAA board members — have directed contributions to the alumni association to support the educational journeys of current and future students.

If this year’s Giving Tuesday was a success — and by every measure, it was — that success was due in large part to the generosity of UC Merced students.

The day-long fundraiser surpassed its goal of 1,000 donors in a day, with $280,000 contributed in just 24 hours. Over its four-year history, Giving Tuesday has helped UC Merced raise more than $1.3 million. For those familiar with UC Merced’s engaged student body, it’s no surprise that students were instrumental in making it all happen.

UC Merced alumnus Daniel Lobato (’13) always planned to give back to the campus that provided him an education.

As a student, Lobato started with modest donations during the university’s annual Giving Tuesday fundraiser, which returns Nov. 28 as Give Tue UC Merced.

For the past three years, members of the UC Merced community and friends have made the Tuesday after Thanksgiving a showstopper for our campus.