This year, GivingTuesday coincided with the Accelerate campaign’s first regional event in Boston. As part of the festivities, Chancellor Javier Reyes urged the crowd of more than 300 alumni, family, and friends to support the university on this worldwide day of giving and announced a $150,000 match offered by the UMass Amherst Alumni Association in honor of its 150th anniversary.

Less than 24 hours after the chancellor’s announcement, the match had been exhausted by gifts from more than 530 donors totaling $156,000. These gifts were made to more than 80 areas of the university, and the match doubled the amount raised for the day to $306,000. See the video below for a thank you message from the University of Amherst Foundation President Arwen Duffy.