The University of Kentucky celebrated its annual “One Day for UK,” raising $1,615,043 over the course of the 24-hour event as of April 20.

One Day for UK is a 24-hour online day of giving that took place April 18. This is a day where alumni, faculty and anyone in the wildcat community have the opportunity to come together and support the colleges, programs and causes they choose, according to the One Day for UK website. 

“Thank you, in advance, for your generosity and support,” UK President Eli Capilouto said in an email on April 16. “When you give to a powerful community, you help its people achieve powerful goals. You make a difference. You change lives.”

There were 10 leaderboards on the One Day for UK leaderboard page, each representing many ways to give to the wildcat community and leave a mark on the university. 

•     7 a.m. Power Hour 
•     12 p.m. Power Hour 
•     8 p.m. Power Hour 
•     Large Colleges Leaderboard 
•     Medium Colleges Leaderboard
•     Small Colleges Leaderboard
•     Large Programs and Units Leaderboard
•     Small Programs and Units Leaderboard
•     Alumni Association Leaderboard
•     BBNfluencer Leaderboard

During the 7 a.m. “Power Hour” the college, programs or units with the most donations were awarded an extra $1,000 and the Chellgren Center claimed the first prize.

“Congratulations to the UK Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering for winning the 12 p.m. Power Hour during #onedayforuk,” a Facebook post by the UK Office of Philanthropy said. 

Around 2:30 p.m. the Facebook page announced that over 1,500 gifts had been made and whoever was to make the 1,865 gift would win $1,865 to send to the college, program or cause of their choice. The 1,865 gift signifies the year the university was established. 

“Congratulations to the UK Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence! Thanks to Julia D., they won the #onedayforuk 1865th gift of the day challenge,” the Facebook post said. 

The Alumni Association Leaderboard tracked the alumni association which had raised the most for scholarship funding. The Greater Louisville UK Alumni Club placed first with 34 donors and $3,346. 

Spreading the word as a “BBNfluencer” was another way to track who had referred the most online gifts, according to the One Day for UK website. Amanda Nelson came in first place with 31 gifts and winning $1,000 to send toward a college, program or cause of choice. 

The leaderboards each awarded monetary gifts to the top two finishers out of each college, program and units. 

The Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering came in first on the “Large Colleges Leaderboard” with 262 donors and earned the first place prize of $1,000. The College of Arts and Sciences followed close behind with 133 donors landing them the second place prize of $500. 

The College of Fine Arts was awarded the first place spot on the “Medium Colleges Leaderboard” with 88 donors and claimed the $1,000 prize. The Rosenberg College of Law was awarded $500 for their second place finish with 56 donors. 

For the “Small Colleges Leaderboard” the College of Public Health took home the first place prize of $1,000 with 89 donors. The Lewis Honors College came in a close second with 75 donors and was awarded $500. 

The Arboretum was awarded $1,000 for securing the first place spot on the “Large Programs and Units Leaderboard” with 80 donors. Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) won $500 for their second place finish with 67 donors. 

There was a close race for the first place spot on the “Small Programs and Units Leaderboard” with the LGBTQ* Resources Gift Fund coming in first with 65 donors and being awarded $1,000. Launch Blue was awarded $500 for being the runner up with 60 donors. 

The last Power Hour of the day at 8 p.m. was won by the Sweetheart Majorettes and were awarded $1,000 toward their program.

The Last Gift of the Day challenge was fulfilled by awarding $1,000 to the College of Communication and Information. 

Multiple other social media challenges went on throughout the day and also awarded money towards the donors’ chosen area, though the biggest challenges were the 1,865 gift and the last gift. 

The event finally came to a close on April 19 at midnight. Over the 24 hour period, the UK community raised $1,615,043 in total.  

The final number will be released around May 10, according to Kel Hahn, the UK Office of Philanthropy communications manager.