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Alumni and friends of Southern Adventist University give back to the university through an engaging event each year that encourages friendly competition across campus.

More than 1,000 alumni and friends joined in Southern’s 2026 Giving Day this past April, contributing $442,546 to support projects across campus. The funds help benefit academic areas, student clubs, mission and service initiatives, and other departments.

This year, the School of Music placed at the top of the leaderboard for the most donors contributing to a designated fund. Thanks to Giving Day supporters, I Cantori plans to use the funds for a May 2027 trip to South Korea, where the choir will share hope and inspiration through the gift of song in a country with a high suicide rate.

“Each student has to pay his or her own way to South Korea, so the Giving Day funds will reduce the individual fundraising amount,” says I Cantori member Clarissa Tching, senior biology and music double major. “To the donors, thank you so much for your support! Your gifts to the School of Music, whether large or small, were crucial in helping us win the $6,000 prize for the most donors. We are so excited to take our musical talents abroad!”

Other prizes were awarded through the Giving Day Showdown, a lively competition that gave students and staff another opportunity to earn support for their projects. Participants pitched their projects to a panel of alumni judges, with audience enthusiasm also helping determine how the funds were awarded. The Latin American Club took first place and plans to use its prize for student scholarships.

“There’s a lot of joy that comes from being part of something bigger,” says Sandra Araújo-Delgado, associate director of Annual Giving for the university. “This is a beautiful opportunity for donors, no matter what their resources are, to get involved. God is using the extended Southern family to do wonderful things here!”

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