East Carolina University

03/02/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 03/02/2026 09:32

ECU set to celebrate 10th day of giving Wednesday

ECU set to celebrate 10th day of giving Wednesday

When all of Pirate Nation participates, all of East Carolina University benefits. That's the idea behind Pirate Nation Gives, the university's annual giving day set for March 4.

ECU is celebrating its 10th annual fundraising event this year, building on a decade of impact for priorities across the university. Over the past decade, donors have helped build support for the university.

"Generosity and dedication to ECU are front and center during Pirate Nation Gives," said Christopher Dyba, vice chancellor for University Advancement. "This day is about everything ECU. Through giving back, every Pirate can be involved in the impact this university has on our students, our region and the world."

Building on past generosity, building participation and building support for ECU will create scholarships, fund professorships, enhance student-centered programs and shape initiatives that transform ECU and the region it serves.

"Alumni and friends have shown incredible support for university initiatives during each year's day of giving. We are eager to see the impact Pirate Nation has during this year's event," Dyba said. "Every gift makes a difference for students, research, arts, health care, athletics and more. Combining one person's philanthropy with that of others to create limitless possibilities."

Since 2017, Pirate Nation Gives has raised more than $50 million for ECU initiatives. Last year, more than 2,300 alumni, friends and students took the opportunity to support ECU, giving more than $10 million. More than 600 were first-time donors.

Building Impact

Pirate Nation Gives donations are important to every program at the university, and for some areas, like ECU's Sustainability Program, the funds can greatly expand their scope of work and create more learning opportunities for students.

"Some of the challenge funding from last year's PNG was actually being used this past weekend to take five ECU students to the Southeast Student Sustainability Conference hosted at Appalachian State University in Boone," said Chad Carwein, ECU's sustainability manager. "These experiences are wonderful for our students as they get to go meet, network with, and learn from their peers from other institutions throughout the Southeast. Transformational experiences like this conference tend to light a fire in students and they return to campus wanting to do so much more for ECU."

Carwein said the program's student interns followed the day's PNG activities in 2025 to earn funds for sustainability.

"One student located a PeeDee plushy and another, who just so happened to be a night owl anyway, stayed up late and made the last donation of the day at 11:59 and 57 seconds to secure a $3,000 bonus prize for our program," Carwein said.

Tori Bain '25 made plans last year to capture support for the sustainability program and earned $500 by tracking and finding a PeeDee.

"I set out to donate to sustainability," Bain said. "With as many programs and projects that they were apart of, it was important to me that they had the support they needed and deserved."

Though she graduated and didn't get to participate in activities that the bonus money made possible, Bain said she was able to witness the success of the sustainability program from projects that had been discussed and proposed.

She also made a personal PNG gift in 2025 to support sustainability.

"I wanted to support ECU because I was so involved on campus, that I wanted to give back to my home away from home," she said. "I wanted to know that I was part of something bigger than myself, and to be able to provide more opportunities to future students."

Champions and Challenges

PNG Champions have pledged to support ECU. More than 80 individuals, families and organizations have pledged support of $5,000 or more on March 4 to establish challenges for donors, which, when fulfilled, will unlock additional gifts supporting scholarships and programs across all disciplines. Details about each challenge and all the ways to participate are outlined on the PNG website.

Donors can make gifts to any area they feel passionate about. Priorities for this year's student organizations, club sports, support for veterans and a scholarship honoring a legendary nursing educator are among the priorities during this year's Pirate Nation Gives.

On campus and across Pirate Nation, supporters can participate in the 24-hour fundraiser. Throughout Wednesday, leaderboards on the Pirate Nation Gives website will track support for areas of campus and encourage giving with a competitive spirit. Social media challenges will give participants the opportunity to win bonus money for their favorite ECU area or fund.

A PeeDee's Matey stuffed toy treasure hunt and philanthropy honor cords for graduating Pirates are planned to boost involvement on campus. Students can participate in Pirate Nation Gives activities from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Main Campus Student Center and at Eakin Recreation Center from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Donations can be made on the Pirate Nation Gives website or by calling 252-ECU-GIVE (252-328-4483).

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East Carolina University published this content on March 02, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on March 02, 2026 at 15:33 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]