The University of Wisconsin Whitewater held its first Day of Giving on Tuesday Nov. 8.

The campaign was organized to support student programs on campus, including scholarships and undergraduate research, as well as faculty support.

“Each donation funds vital student programming,” said Vice Chancellor for Student Advancement Jon Eslin.

The campaign brought in Whitewater alumni as donors, in an effort to make sure programs are maintained for future students.

“Being an alumn is one thing, but being able to say I give back to support the dreams of others means so much more,” said class of ’98 alum Brian Huels.

The National Day of Giving, or Giving Tuesday, was started in 2012 at the Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact, a nonprofit group in New York.

The campaign has grown rapidly since with morethan $160 million raised online in 2016, from more than 98 countries, according to information from givingtuesday.org.

UW-Whitwater joined more than 33,000 nonprofits and civic organization for this years campaign.