The University of North Carolina at Pembroke recorded the highest percentage of donors in the UNC System in the 2021 State Employees Combined Campaign.

Amid a pandemic, UNCP continued to raise the bar, demonstrating its commitment as a campus to the community by increasing its employee participation by 17% compared with the previous year.

UNCP earned the Chairman’s Award for increasing the number of donations and participation over the last year. The number of donors more than doubled from 53 to 159 totaling $15,707, exceeding $11,292 collected the previous year.

The university also received the Growth in Giving Award for having an overall increase in giving.

“We are extremely thankful to each one of the UNCP employees who donated and gave back to so many great causes throughout the state,” campaign co-chairs Dalton Hoffer and John Dunlap said in a joint statement.

“We are still enduring a pandemic and our UNCP family is continuing to invest in our community. That’s a testament to great leadership and the values and commitment of our employees.”

The SECC committee incorporated fun and creative initiatives during the campaign, such as ‘ducking’ events and free massages to engage employees. Committee members delivered a giant inflatable duck to encourage those who had yet to donate. UNCP partnered with students in the massage therapy program at Robeson Community College to reward donors.

The State Employees Combined Campaign is the only authorized fundraising campaign permitted to solicit charitable contributions in the state employee workplace. Since its first campaign in 1985, it has raised more than $100 million in gifts from state employees.