A Decade of Giving

On Sept. 10, Auburn’s annual day of giving, Tiger Giving Day, will celebrate its 10-year anniversary. Since 2015 more than 12,000 donors have given more than $6 million to Tiger Giving Day projects. Those gifts have supported 362 life-changing projects with their generosity and passion.

Equally amazing are the more than 150 donors who have supported a Tiger Giving Day project every year since it started. These annual donors have varied reasons why they support Tiger Giving Day each year, but it all comes back to their love of Auburn.

For Spencer Lee ’02 giving on that day is just different.

“I like the focused nature of Tiger Giving Day because there’s a personal connection to the gift,” Lee said. “My son and I get to walk across a bridge at the Davis Arboretum that I donated toward, other projects benefiting the autism community help some of the same people I see in programs my children participate in, and the dire need for financial literacy has long been a project I care deeply about. I was able to donate to a program designed for that purpose to benefit Auburn students.”

Tiger Giving Day 2025 will feature 46 projects that cover the gamut of the Auburn experience. These include stocking the Campus Career Closet for students who need professional attire for interviews or conferences. Additionally, the Army ROTC is seeking funds for an off-road vehicle that can transport safety and life-saving equipment.

Many donors give to projects that reflect their own experiences. Susan Dantoni ’80 was a first- generation college student and looks every year for projects that support the student experience.

“As a first-gen graduate, I like funding projects that bring new experiences to high school students at Auburn like the Brain Camp or activities at the Gogue Performing Arts Center,” Dantoni said.

Others want to pay it forward from the generosity they received. “I attended Auburn on scholarships, and remember attending a donor appreciation reception where we went and met the people who contributed to the scholarships that were allowing us students to attend a great university without major financial pressures,” Jason Wilson ’01 said.

“I said to myself that I would love to pay it forward to the generations that followed. While we are just ‘everyday’ donors who won’t find our names on any buildings, making contributions to various projects on Tiger Giving Day and then seeing the follow-up notifications on those projects has been a fun and rewarding way to be involved in the greater mission of a place that means so much to our family.”

Lee and Wilson love the excitement of tracking projects during the day of giving.

“Auburn people never cease to amaze me with their generosity.”

“Each year I follow the progress of each cause as time permits during the day,” said Lee. “Admittedly, there are some projects that seem to have a really ambitious goal for the day, but Auburn people never cease to amaze me with their generosity.”

Wilson loves tracking the names of friends and family as they appear on the donor wall throughout the day. Other households make it a family event, with parents and children all getting to pick at least one project to support.

Wilson is an engineering graduate but says he’s always attracted to the more unique projects.

“I’ve always liked the interesting projects like finding a display for the dinosaur egg, improvements at the Kreher Nature Preserve or things for The Gogue or the art museum,” Wilson said. “Of course, we love to support the engineering projects, but these other projects are really tangible areas to improve the culture of the university.”

Don Moseley ’73, who supports the campus radio station WEGL and other projects, believes Tiger Giving Day is a way to thank Auburn for what it did for him.

“Giving back to the university is the best way I know to say thank you for all it has given me,” Moseley said. “Without my time at Auburn, my life would be entirely different.”

Others, as the Creed says, just believe in Auburn and love it.

“Auburn University had an important impact on my life then and now,” said Auburn Hudgins ’07. “I love what they’re doing. I love how they’ve changed lives for the better and I want to help with that if I can.”

By Todd Deery ’90