Andrea and Raman

Giving Day aims to help undergraduate students

24 hours. 50 years. One Boundless promise.

On Thursday, Sept. 14, the University of Toronto Mississauga is holding its first-ever Giving Day, a unique opportunity for donors to support undergraduate students and celebrate UTM’s 50th anniversary year. Over a 24-hour period, UTM is aiming to raise funds to establish the 50th Anniversary Boundless Promise Award, helping students make history long after they graduate.

“This is an exciting chance to establish an award that will make a significant difference in the lives of our students,” says Macarena Sierra, acting executive director of advancement at U of T Mississauga. “Receiving a scholarship or award allows our students to shift their focus from financial concerns to enriching their undergraduate experience through extracurricular opportunities like volunteering, mentorship or studying abroad.”

Giving Day will help build long-term support for undergraduate students. Moreover, U of T will match the annual income of each gift in perpetuity—meaning that every donation to the Boundless Promise Award will be invested and the annual payout matched by the university, doubling the impact for UTM students today and into the future.

“Giving Day is an investment in the future of our students,” says Sierra. “They are bright and hard-working, and supporting them is really a way to support UTM’s contribution to our community, our nation and our world.”

Every day, funding to scholarships and awards provides not only financial support to students, it also enables them to extend their reach into an array of extra-curricular activities that improve campus and community life.

Three years ago, Andrea Koop was new to Mississauga, unemployed and worried about supporting her three children. "I remember thinking, ‘if only someone would give me a chance, I could do so much.’”

She enrolled in UTM’s commerce program and made her mark with top grades, a job as a teaching assistant and a long list of extracurricular and volunteer commitments, including a role in the Undergraduate Commerce Society and on the CPA Ontario Board of Ambassadors. The hard work quickly began to pay off. Now in her fourth year of an accounting specialization, Andrea is the beneficiary of a donor-funded award recognizing her achievements.

“Getting that award directly increased my family’s quality of life,” she says. “It takes so much of the pressure off.”

Find out more about Giving Day.