EverGREEN, The Campaign for UVU | Utah Valley University

When David Adjetey missed out on an Olympic dream, he knew education would change his life.

From an early age, David believed he could find success if he dedicated himself. His father, who had no formal education, said he could have been the president of Ghana if he had been able to go to school. “This instilled in me the mentality that education could open doors for me,” David said. “It was always a goal of mine to get as much knowledge as I could.”

David was passionate about taekwondo, which he practiced for hours each day. After getting the opportunity to come to Utah for advanced training, he put his education on hold. His goal was to compete in the 2012 Olympics, but fell short in the final qualifying round by one point. He decided to return to his education, taking night classes while balancing multiple jobs to support his wife and kids, while also sending money to his younger siblings back home in Ghana.

“I am human, and there were times that I felt broken, but I would not give up anything for the feeling I received upon graduating from UVU,” David said. “Walking at graduation was the culmination of all the work that I had put in. Some people say that a degree is just a piece of paper, but for me, a degree means that I can move up in the world. UVU opened doors for me by educating me and giving me a degree.”

Employee Giving

EMPOWERING STUDENTS FROM THE INSIDE OUT

At UVU, giving is something employees model. The “I AM UVU” Employee Giving program invites faculty and staff to support scholarships, programs, and emergency funds through easy payroll deduction or recurring gifts. The message is simple: every gift, at any level, helps sustain the access plus excellence experience UVU promises. The program frames employee giving as an extension of UVU’s culture, and a tangible way to remove barriers for students who are working, caregiving, and striving to finish well.

Employee generosity is catalytic. When UVU faculty and staff invest in students, it signals internal alignment and confidence in the university’s direction, an important marker during a campaign that depends on community partnership. Employee giving ties employees directly to students: stocking emergency funds, underwriting scholarships, and fueling innovation. It’s a reminder that the people closest to students often see needs first and respond fastest.

EMPLOYEE GIVING

By the numbers

10,576

employee gifts

1,838

employee donors

$2,753,814

employee donations

Employees donated
the equivalent of

831

semesters of tuition

In my role, I see students make immense sacrifices to pursue higher education, juggling jobs, studies, dependents, and more as they strive for a different life.

I hope my small contribution, when combined with others, can lighten their load, making it easier for students to transform their futures.

Richelle Andersen, Assistant Dean, WSB

UVU’s Endowment

STRENGTH THAT GROWS AND ENDURES

Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of UVU donors, the university’s endowment has reached an unprecedented $129.7 million. This marks an 134.8% increase since FY19, and the highest endowment total in university history. Each endowed fund, no matter the size, represents a promise to future students. They are shared commitments to strengthen academic excellence and build a more vibrant community. These investments in UVU’s mission continue to create meaningful, measurable changes that will echo through generations.

344

endowed funds
(254 are scholarships)

Alumni Giving

WOLVERINES LIFTING THE NEXT GENERATION

UVU’s alumni base is large and growing and it needed a home to match. In August 2023, the university opened the Young Living Alumni Center on the north end of campus, a welcoming hub for networking, mentoring, and lifelong connections. At the ribbon cutting, alumni and leaders spoke about evolution and belonging, how a community of graduates stays local and how a vibrant center can help them give back as mentors, employers, and donors.

The Young Living Alumni Center also houses Institutional Advancement, physically linking alumni engagement with scholarship fundraising and campaign stewardship. That proximity matters for first-time donors who want to see the impact up close: named scholarships that target specific needs, program funds that amplify student experiences, and spaces that host alumni-student networking nights. By design, the building is less a hall and more a crossroads, with events that welcome recent grads alongside established professionals.

Alumni participation is both breadth and depth. Breadth means more first-time gifts— accessible entry points, such as crowdfunding projects, event-based giving, and monthly gifts that align with early-career budgets. Depth means major and planned gifts that secure the future and endowments that sustain scholarships and program support. The Young Living Alumni Center is the staging ground for both: an easy on-ramp for new supporters and a trust-building venue for those exploring larger commitments.

During the center’s ribbon-cutting, President Tuminez emphasized to the UVU alumni community to surround themselves with a wide range of ideas, build a life on a foundation of community, and remember that UVU’s evolution is a shared project. First-time donors often start with gratitude; the Young Living Alumni Center helps translate that feeling into action and keeps them close enough to see what their generosity makes possible.

UVU STUDENT SUCCESS