However you got connected — whether during your time as a student or later as an alumnus — we hope you’ll stay connected to the community of friends and alumni who care deeply about the university and want to ensure its continued success by supporting one of the many programs, schools, or scholarships that make UCF great.

Whether it’s giving to UCF Alumni and the more than $40,000 in scholarship awards they give each year, and the full-range of services and networking opportunities they provide; The UCF Fund, the university’s annual giving program that supports UCF’s most critical needs like First Generation Scholarships or the Knights Helping Knights Pantry; The Golden Knights Club, the fundraising arm of UCF Athletics that assists our 500+ student-athletes as they continue to succeed on and off the field; or a specific college or school on our main campus or one of our nine regional campus across Central Florida, your support helps UCF continue to grow and provide opportunities for alumni, current and future students, community partners and friends.

Friends like you supported a wide variety of programs, from First Generation student scholarships to athletic facility enhancement. They went to basketball games at the CFE Arena and donated to UCF Athletics. They attended theatre performances and helped support the Performing Arts Center. They helped raise worldwide literacy rates by funding research at the Morgridge International Reading Center. The support of friends has helped make UCF the jewel of Central Florida.

UCF’s goal is to offer the best undergraduate education available in Florida, but many of the programs that enrich the student experience do not receive the state funding they require. Contrary to popular belief, tuition and state funding cover only a portion of the real cost of educating students.

That's why we established the Parent & Family Fund, a one-stop shop to assist the vital student programs that help ensure all Knights' success. Things like the 'Study Union,' the round-the-clock operation of the student union during finals week, complete with on-site tutoring; Knights Helping Knights pantry, the student-run operation that helps Knights in need with food and supplies; library renovations and resource additions that help many more students with their academic needs. And that's just a few. Virtually every aspect of academic and extracurricular experiences is impacted by the generosity of parents and families of Knights.

GET INVOLVED: We encourage parent involvement at UCF through our Parent & Family Philanthropy Council. For more information, contact Annie O'Donnell '08 '10MBA, Director of Parent & Family Philanthropy or visit our Parent & Family Philanthropy Council page.

As a faculty or staff member, you can identify areas where support is needed most and reinforce your departments' most valued or underserved programs — ones that others may not even be aware of.

But it goes further than that. Your giving says to the community, UCF's peer institutions and, most importantly, students that those who work at UCF are devoted to the success of the university. It plays a role in academic rankings and reputation. It says to alumni and friends on whose support the university depends that UCF's faculty and staff believe in UCF enough to give their own valuable resources.

Volunteering time or supporting programs with a donation gives you, and other Knights like you, the chance to experience great things like trail restoration, organizing a food pantry warehouse and assisting with childcare for children with Down Syndrome — through programs like Volunteer UCF and Knights Give Back. After all, it's those extra things you do outside of your study time that make the UCF experience personal.

Giving back through student philanthropy is also on the rise at UCF, and student donors are making sure that current and future Knights have limitless options when it comes to enriching the college experience, by giving to the programs that help Knights make a lasting impact on the Central Florida community. To get involved, please visit: https://ucfalumni.com/students/student-philanthropy

Whether from close to home in our Central Florida backyard, or from across the globe, support from organizations and corporate partners helps create programs and opportunities for our current and future students, our alumni, and our faculty.

Your organization's support is a vote of confidence in UCF’s vision and mission of educating our future workforce, fostering innovation and strengthening Florida’s future.