UNH Today

The (603) Challenge has broken all previous records, setting a gold standard for what Wildcats can achieve together.

The 2018 iteration of this annual online giving campaign saw more than 5,000 UNH alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students and friends contributing more than $500,000 — all in the course of just six days. These gifts will be amplified thanks to the challenge’s underwriters, who provided more than $325,000 in matching and bonus funds.

“The collective generosity and enthusiasm we see during the challenge is Wildcat pride at its best,” says Jackie Peterson, director of annual giving at UNH. “We are inspired by the number of people who rally in support of UNH and the areas of the university that mean most to them.”

This year’s challenge also featured many opportunities for UNH’s schools and colleges, athletic teams and programs to receive bonus funds — including The University Bonus Challenge, which awarded an additional $2,000, $1,000 and $500, respectively, to the top three gift recipients in each of those categories. For colleges, the top three were Paul College of Business and Economics, the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Health and Human Services. In athletics, the highest number of gifts went to skiing, football and swimming/diving. Among university programs, the top three winners were the Entrepreneurship Center, Shoals Marine Lab and Northeast Passage.

Although those areas rose to the top of the leaderboard, donors chose to support more than 150 different designations, meaning the impact of the challenge will be felt across UNH’s three campuses and be put to immediate use helping UNH students thrive and make an impact locally and globally.

With little more than one week left in CELEBRATE 150: The Campaign for UNH, The (603) Challenge provided an extra boost to this historic initiative that has raised more than $306 million so far.

“Those who missed out on the opportunity to join the 5,000 Wildcats who rose to The (603) Challenge still have until June 30 to participate in the campaign,” Peterson says, “and they will make a difference for the students joining us in the fall.”