Inaugural Raise Your Pick UTEP Giving Day Raises More Than $330K

EL PASO, Texas (Apr. 17, 2023) – The University of Texas at El Paso’s inaugural Raise Your Pick UTEP Giving Day raised over $336,000 through more than 2,000 individual gifts from alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends of the University.

The fundraiser, along with a companion block party in UTEP’s Centennial Plaza, took place on Apr. 12, 2023.

“El Paso and the Miner community supported our students and the work we do here at UTEP,” said UTEP President Heather Wilson. “Raise Your Pick Giving Day was a great success.”

Organizers in the Division of Institutional Advancement envisioned Raise Your Pick UTEP Giving Day as a communitywide, high-profile giving event designed to raise funds for approximately 50 initiatives on campus, including scholarships, research and student support services. The event offered multiple online and in-person giving opportunities.

“The Miner Nation came together to make a tremendous impact on our campus and community,” said Jake Logan, UTEP’s vice president for institutional advancement. “Thank you to those who participated, either by making a gift or sharing the campaign with their friends and families. We are grateful for each and every one of you.”

As a corporate sponsor, Microsoft provided $25,000 in matching and challenge funds to incentivize donors to participate in the philanthropic event.

“This was an opportunity for so many of us who’ve graduated from UTEP or whose lives have been positively impacted by the University to give back to this institution that has given us so much,” said Manuel Castruita, president of the UTEP Alumni Association Board of Directors. “I want to thank everyone who contributed, but especially those among the more than 130,000 UTEP alumni around the world who took this opportunity to support their alma mater.”

Those who missed the chance to donate during Raise Your Pick Giving Day but would still like to support UTEP can click HERE to give now.

Additional information on specific projects of our faculty, staff and students in need of community funding is available HERE.

About The University of Texas at El Paso

The University of Texas at El Paso is America’s leading Hispanic-serving university. Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande, 84% of our 24,000 students are Hispanic, and half are the first in their families to go to college. UTEP offers 169 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier research university in America.