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Gators have made almost 80,000 gifts since the first Stand Up & Holler: Gator Nation Giving Day five years ago.

Last year, in just 24 hours, the Gator Nation made almost 29,000 gifts on Giving Day. Every “bit” was put to good use to keep UF and its far-reaching work going strong.

Gators from every U.S. state and 14 other countries from as far away as Afghanistan, Singapore and Australia participated in last year’s Stand Up and Holler campaign, giving a combined $22.63 million.

Last year, 78 Gator Clubs and 14 alumni association affiliate groups combined for 3,987 gifts and almost $143,000. The Gator Band Alumni Association’s 760 gifts for $46,241 were the most of all clubs and affiliates.

While Floridians contributed far and away the most gifts (9,121) in 2023, other top states were Georgia (398), Texas (379), Tennessee (213), California (181) and North Carolina (178).

In the past four years, almost 2,000 gifts were directed to MFOS to support first-gen students. Over 300 gifts were made to MFOS last year.

Over 2,300 was given to support the Children’s Miracle Network this past Giving Day. CMN hospitals provide treatment to 32 million children a year. Over $100,000 has been raised for the UF Health Children’s Miracle Network since the inception of Stand Up and Holler: Gator Nation Giving Day.

Since that first Gator Nation Giving Day five years ago, Gators have made almost 80,000 gifts, many of them for just $1 to $5. But amazing things happen when we pull together at UF! Thanks to those gifts, Gators have provided dozens of full scholarships for first-generation students. And that’s just one example of all of the good that comes out of Giving Day.

Gator Nation Giving Day, like the University of Florida, grows more successful each year. From that first celebration in 2019 to last year’s all-virtual event, we keep shattering records for single-day giving.

UF’s growing stature – ranked as the nation’s No. 1 public university by the Wall Street Journal – can be directly linked to Giving Day. That’s because gifts support all of the good work done at UF.

When you give to the area you care about the most, you keep UF strong. Investments from thousands of alumni, students, faculty, staff members and others will fund scholarships, enhance academic programs and boost outreach projects across campus and beyond.

Let’s continue to show the world what thousands of friends of <College/Unit> can do when we pull together to support higher education and all of the good that comes from our far-reaching and life-changing work.

UF’s annual giving day is named Stand Up & Holler as a tribute to the beloved Gator football game cheer made famous by George Edmondson Jr., better known to fans as “Mr. Two Bits.” Edmondson’s iconic orange-and-blue striped necktie is used as a symbol to promote the campaign, with replicas as long as 30 feet strategically placed throughout the UF campus.

Remember that sight — and sound? Ninety thousand fans in the Swamp. A figure in a yellow shirt and orange and blue tie takes to the field. Suddenly, tens of thousands of voices — All for the Gators! — are lifted together, a unified force for UF. Like that namesake cheer, Stand Up & Holler: Gator Nation Giving Day is a similar show of unity and pride. Today, we ask you to “stand up” for the school, research initiative, campus activity or UF cause that means the most to you. Your gift, joined with thousands of others that day, will lift UF and all of its far-reaching and life-changing work.