Campus News
UC Santa Cruz launches the Donor Collective as part of Inspiring Change—the Campaign for UCSC
The Donor Collective amplifies the shared values of UCSC donors and harnesses their philanthropy into powerful, lasting impact through student opportunities, educational programs, and breakthrough research. The Donor Collective creates a pathway for every donor to have the kind of impact they want to make in the world through supporting the university.
At UC Santa Cruz, every gift matters. When alumni, students, faculty, family, and friends come together to support the areas that resonate with them, each contribution, at any level, becomes part of something larger. Combined, these acts of generosity create a collective force for societal change, one that carries forward the university’s impact for generations to come.
UC Santa Cruz is evolving its annual giving program into the Donor Collective, to reflect how university donors choose to support causes important to them through the institution. By encouraging broad participation at every level, the Donor Collective harnesses the power of community to sustain, strengthen, and expand societal impact by supporting UC Santa Cruz.
The initiative is a fundamental shift in how the campus engages annual donors and addresses generational shifts in university giving nationally—loyalty alone cannot inspire new generations of donors. Rather, giving is driven by the causes that matter most to donors, and UC Santa Cruz and its programs are perfectly positioned to enable that kind of systemic impact. Giving to UC Santa Cruz enables positive, transformational change.
The Donor Collective builds on a history of collective giving at the university. In 2025, nearly 13,000 gifts under $100 accounted for $668,000 in donations, and nearly 17,000 gifts under $250 totaled $1 million. These dollars translate into tangible outcomes—opportunities beyond the classroom for new generations of students, funds that fuel life-changing research, and resources that provide every student, regardless of financial circumstances, the opportunity to succeed.
How gifts translate into impact through UC Santa Cruz
These examples reflect a few of the ways that gifts, of any size, result in tangible outcomes that extend beyond the university
$250
In support of climate and environment funds the tools and native stock needed to restore a section of the California Conservation Garden at the Arboretum. This aids in preserving native plant biodiversity in the state for future generations.
$50
In support of student success and opportunity funds the licensing of an ebook, providing an entire class with access to essential readings and removing cost as a barrier to learning.
$5
In partnership with the Redwood Free Market and the Second Harvest Food Bank, provides meals for a week for a student. By supporting inclusion and social justice, donors contribute to a community-wide effort to end food insecurity.
The launch of the Donor Collective comes as UC Santa Cruz builds momentum with Inspiring Change: The Campaign for UC Santa Cruz. This second-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign entered its public phase in November 2025 and has raised more than $410 million to date, including nearly $75 Million raised this past fiscal year.
As part of Inspiring Change, the Donor Collective helps demonstrate how every donor can participate in the future of UC Santa Cruz and its intended impact on society.
“The Donor Collective makes it possible for every member of our community to see how they can contribute to UC Santa Cruz’s future impact,” said Chancellor Cynthia Larive. “Every gift, regardless of size, helps expand opportunities for the next generation of changemakers, fuels discovery and innovation, and strengthens our ability to serve California and the world. Together, those collective acts of generosity create lasting impact.”
Inspiring Change and the Donor Collective work in tandem by connecting donors with causes close to their hearts. Whether looking to fund solutions to better the climate and environment, support breakthrough research, bolster health and well-being in our communities, amplify student success, or foster creativity and expression, donors can support something that matters to them.
“The Donor Collective is a natural extension of Inspiring Change, designed to broaden participation and strengthen the foundation of support,” said Vice Chancellor of University Advancement and President of the UC Santa Cruz Foundation Mark Delos Reyes Davis. “UCSC’s Donor Collective reflects why and how our donors give to our university—through and for things they care about and where they want to make a real impact.”
Connecting donors to areas of care
A key pillar of the Donor Collective is connecting members of the UC Santa Cruz community with the areas they care about most. Whatever cause resonates most, chances are UC Santa Cruz is already advancing work in that space—from cutting-edge research to student support and beyond. Alumni, students, faculty, parents, family, and friends can plug into a number of areas, including:
- Athletics
- Climate and environment
- Human connection and creativity
- Inclusion and social justice
- Physical and mental health
- Science and discovery
- Student success and opportunity
- Technology and innovation
For UC Santa Cruz Foundation Trustee Janet Buck, supporting the future of our world’s climate and environment is her highest philanthropic priority. She chooses to give through UC Santa Cruz, supporting research, programs that translate that research into action, and experiences that give undergraduates the skills they need to launch their careers and become changemakers that will better the planet.
“I’m proud to support UC Santa Cruz through the Coastal Science and Policy Program, the Seymour Marine Discovery Center, and the university’s unique Degree-Defining Experiences program, which connects outstanding research with transformative, hands-on learning. I believe these experiences prepare students to become the scientists, policymakers, and leaders who will develop innovative solutions for a more sustainable future.”
Patrick Robinson (Rachel Carson ’03, marine biology; Ph.D. ’09) knows UC Santa Cruz from nearly every angle as an undergraduate alumnus, a graduate alumnus, a postdoctoral researcher, and now a member of the staff. He arrived in 1999 and today serves as the director of the Año Nuevo Reserve.
Robinson has seen firsthand what philanthropy makes possible and how many small donations can have a tangible impact. His contributions go to the UC Natural Reserve System, and the motivation is close to home. His giving is rooted in his own experience as a student.
“I want every undergraduate to have the same field experiences that inspired me to pursue a career in the natural sciences,” he says, “and to become one of the next generation of researchers, teachers, and engaged citizens.”
Tracy Murray (Porter ’94, feminist studies) first found her way to UC Santa Cruz as a Porter College student in 1992. Now, as the university’s corporate development and alumni career programs manager, she works across the Alumni Engagement and Career Success Departments to connect students with experiences that will shape their futures and provide professional development opportunities for alumni.
Her current giving spans three programs, each reflecting something she cares about deeply. She supports the Año Nuevo Elephant Seal Program out of a sense of urgent responsibility. An avian flu has put these colonies at serious risk, and for Murray, protecting them is a direct response to a real environmental threat. She gives to The Deep Read because of its shared intellectual community and power to bring people together over the magic of a book. Murray also gives to the Career Success Clothing Closet because she has seen what it does for students stepping into interviews and professional settings for the first time.
“Providing students with the professional attire they need to step confidently into their futures,” she says, “is one of the most direct ways we can support student success and equity on campus.”
Buck’s, Robinson’s, and Murray’s giving represents the spirit of the Donor Collective—a community of donors, each giving in their own way, coming together to support the causes that resonate with them most. By joining as a community, we sustain the ideas, opportunities, and discoveries that will define UC Santa Cruz, and the world, for generations to come.