Giving Blueday, the University of Michigan's annual on-line fundraising effort, returns for the third year on November 29, 2016. For 24 hours, starting at midnight on the 29th, the whole university will be celebrating its contributions to the public good and the donations that make them possible.

Once again, the Biological Station is asking for donations to our Development Fund (300652), which we use for student scholarships. A summer session at UMBS costs around $6,500 for in-state students and nearly $16,000 for out of state students. The majority of our students request financial aid to help offset these costs.

Last year Bug Camp friends and alumni contributed more than $9,000 on Giving Blueday, which was four times the amount from the previous year. For 2016, we'd love to raise $20,000 to help more students attend the Biological Stationand get a quality science education. Will you help us?

As an added thank you, if you take any of these actions, we will enter you in a drawing for UMBS swag (t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs):

  • Make an on-line gift to the Biological Station at any point Tuesday, November 29.
  • Participate in any of the Giving Blueday social media hourly challenges. Whether it's Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, be sure to tag #GivingBlueday and #UMBS so we can find your posts/tweets. In particular, we're pushing these challenges:
    • 5-6 AM : Tell us your favorite U-M hangout using #GivingBlueday. Who doesn't have a favorite Bug Camp spot?!
    • 5-6 PM: Fill in the blank: "_[the Biological Station]_ should receive an extra $1,000 today for #GivingBlueday because ____."

STUDENTS, Make twice the impact with your gift! Thanks to generous U-M donors, there will be a $5,000 student match every hour from 8AM - 5PM on Giving Blueday until the money runs out! Each individual student gift will be matched up to $200. Every gift makes a difference!

By choosing to support the Biological Station on Giving Blueday, you’ll join other members of the Michigan family from around the world—alumni, students, faculty, staff, parents, grandparents, patients and their families, fans, patrons, and devotees—to create an enormous impact.