Avenues for Giving

Annual Gifts

Last year, more than 23,000 alumni and friends made an annual gift to the UH campus, college or program of their choice, collectively giving more than $2 million. These gifts are more than a charitable contribution, they are an investment in the students, faculty, staff, and programs of the University of Hawaiʻi and an investment in the State of Hawaiʻi.

What is an Annual Gift?
What do Annual Gifts support?
Why are Annual Gifts important?
Who benefits from Annual Gifts?
How do I make an Annual Gift?
Where does my Annual Gift go?
When should I make my Annual Gift?

If you still have unanswered questions or want additional information about making an annual gift to the University of Hawaiʻi, contact Nicole Kuamoo, Interim Director of Annual Giving, at 808-956-7357. Or send email to Nicole.

Tyrome Yamaguchi
Director of Annual Giving
University of Hawaiʻi Foundation
2444 Dole Street, Bachman 105
Honolulu, HI 96822

What is an Annual Gift?

These are gifts that are typically made annually by alumni and friends in response to direct-mail appeals, phone calls, or via online giving. Many of these gifts are then matched by the donor’s employer through corporate matching gift programs.

What do Annual Gifts support?

Annual gifts generally support the Advancement Fund (or discretionary fund) for the particular UH campus, college or program to which the annual gift was made. These gifts -- the highest priority gifts -- provide the chancellor, dean or director with much-needed operating funds that augment state funds and tuition dollars. Occasionally, donors designate their annual gifts for specific purposes, such as scholarship assistance, faculty development, or technology improvements.

Why are Annual Gifts important?

The University of Hawaiʻi System experienced a decade of declining budgets resulting in very tight, and often reduced, operating budgets throughout the UH System. State funds and tuition dollars rarely meet the budget needs of a campus, college or program, leading to difficult funding decisions. Annual gifts augment state funds and tuition dollars and not only maintain existing programs, but enhance them and allow for the planning and implementation of promising new programs.

Who benefits from Annual Gifts?

Everyone -- students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and the community -- benefits from annual gifts made to UH. The funds provided by annual gifts allow chancellors, deans, and directors to take advantage of a wide variety of opportunities such as:

Without annual gifts, many of the above opportunities would otherwise be lost.

How do I make an Annual Gift?

Annual gifts can be made through direct-mail appeals, phone pledges, and online giving.

Direct Mail Appeals

Each year, the UH Foundation, on behalf of the various campuses, colleges, and programs of the UH System, mails a solicitation to the alumni and friends of that particular UH unit. These letters allow the chancellor, dean or director to write to his or her alumni and friends to provide an update and to solicit support for that unit. Each year, thousands of donors respond to these direct-mail appeals.

Phone Pledges

The Annual Giving Student Calling Center employs dozens of UH students who are well-trained and eager to reach out to alumni and friends of the various UH programs to update them on what is happening at their UH campus, college or program, answer questions the alum or friend may have and to solicit their financial support for that UH unit. Most UH alumni enjoy the opportunity to speak with a current UH student and find the phone call a rewarding experience. Last year, students of the Calling Center enjoyed speaking with more than 41,000 UH alumni and friends resulting in over $1.3 million in gift pledges.

Online Giving

Unlike direct-mail appeals and the Student Calling Center where we are reaching out to you, most online gifts come from alumni and friends who visit our website to make a secure credit card gift and support the UH college, campus or program of their choice. Online gifts are also the most cost-efficient method to make an annual gift as the UH Foundation foregoes expenses related to mailings or phone calls. Here’s where you can go to make an online gift now.

Corporate Matching Gifts

Many corporations have Matching Gift programs where a corporation will match gifts their employees make to qualified charities (including the UH Foundation). Matching Gift policies vary from company to company, so please check with your Human Resources Office to see if your employer matches charitable gifts. Many companies will also match charitable gifts of their retirees and employee spouses.

Where does my Annual Gift go?

You determine where you want your annual gift to go -- you select the UH campus, college or program that you want to benefit from your annual gift. Many Annual Giving donors support multiple UH campuses, colleges, and programs. Or, your gift may be undesignated, which makes your gift avaliable for the UH Fund for Excellence which supports the student callers who work to raise private gifts on behalf of the university and Annual Giving campaigns at the UH Foundation. These programs raise funds for all 10 campuses of the UH System.

When should I make my Annual Gift?

Annual gifts can be made any day of the year -- and thanks to online giving, any time of the day or night. The university’s fiscal year is July 1 through June 30 and the Office of Annual Giving uses this fiscal year when determining giving in a particular year. Typically, once an alum or friend makes an annual gift to a particular campus, college or program in a fiscal year, he or she will not be contacted again by the Office of Annual Giving for another gift to that UH unit for the remainder of the fiscal year. Therefore, making annual gifts early in the fiscal year leads to less mail and few or no phone calls from the Office of Annual Giving.

A small portion of all gifts to the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is used to defray the cost of administering and raising private funds for the University of Hawaiʻi.