Cal Poly Humboldt Giving Day raises $349,167 for campus programs

Cal Poly Humboldt’s fourth annual Giving Day brought in $349,167 in 24 hours, with 1,186 donors helping finance 138 campus clubs, programs, departments and scholarships. The university said 77 groups took part in the crowdfunding effort, and $123,775 in matching gifts from alumni, faculty, families and other supporters amplified the total.

The money is slated to land where students feel it fastest: in program budgets, research projects, travel, supplies and scholarship support. Among the strongest performances was the Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab & Traditional Ecological Knowledges Institute, which raised nearly $30,000 and cleared its goal. The lab says it is dedicated to revitalizing Indigenous food systems through hands-on learning, research and collaboration, with an emphasis on community voice, tribal autonomy, self-determination and place-specific traditional ecological knowledges. It also says it is not funded by the university and depends on donor support for operating costs, which makes Giving Day one of the clearest outside funding sources for its work.

A $10,000 match listed for the lab on the university’s Giving Day page helped stretch donor dollars further, including support tied to Philip Anton and Yuriko Anton. For a program built around Indigenous input and Native youth leadership, the match turned small gifts into operating money that can keep research and outreach moving.

Other student groups used the campaign to back hands-on learning with direct career value. The Computer Science Club raised money for larger events such as Hackathon for Social Good, a campus effort that brings together student programmers, industry mentors and local nonprofits to build software tools, web applications and mobile apps for community problems. The club describes itself as a welcoming space for workshops and career exploration, and its Giving Day haul points to steady student demand for practical, resume-building opportunities.

The Wildlife Graduate Student Society also drew support for conference travel, professional development and essential field and lab supplies. The group serves as a forum for the wildlife graduate program and a resource for academic and local communities, while the program’s giving page emphasizes field-based learning, including multi-day trips and course work that build wildlife survey and habitat-management skills.

The total marked a gain of $45,777 over last year’s $303,390, raised from 1,172 donors. Cal Poly Humboldt said the campaign takes place on the first Wednesday of April each year, a timing that ties back to the first week Humboldt offered classes in 1914. The university also said it has more than 88,000 alumni, a donor base large enough to shape how student programs are funded when public higher education budgets are under pressure. Annual Giving Coordinator Marie Forrest-Murray said the campaign reflected a community that shows up for students in meaningful and generous ways.