What started out as a unique approach to rally the Waterloo Warriors community following the pandemic has developed into one of the department's most anticipated yearly fundraising campaigns. Launched in 2021, the Varsity Giving Challenge aims to encourage alumni, family, friends, and fans to donate to their favourite varsity teams while maintaining friendly rivalries. Six years later, the Warriors community's extraordinary generosity is still fueled by the same spirit of competition.

Five teams met their donor targets during the Varsity Giving Challenge's first campaign, which generated over $36,500 from 353 contributors. Since then, more teams have reached their goal, more fans have joined the Warriors community, and annual fundraising totals have been rising.

This year's Varsity Giving Challenge was the most successful to date. More than $120,000 was raised by 625 supporters and 18 varsity teams met their donor targets. During the campaign, teams are asked to rally their networks to reach a donor goal. To ensure equity across all programs, team goals are set relative to their roster size. For teams who successfully reach their donor goals, they are entered into a draw to score some additional cash prizes in support of their program. This year, Football won the campaign's random draw award, and Men's Hockey took the lead in terms of overall donors and dollars raised. Funds raised through this challenge support varsity programming and contributes to improving the student-athlete experience, enabling Warriors varsity athletes to compete at their highest level. A genuine collaborative effort amongst varsity programs and their alumni and supporters is what makes the campaign's ongoing success a reality.  

Over the years, the Varsity Giving Challenge has strengthened links between teams and the communities who support them, while raising over $360,000 to date in support of varsity sports. The Varsity Giving Challenge puts the generosity and enthusiasm of the Warriors community on full display, and allows our varsity teams to mobilize their network of alumni, fans and supporters to come together for the common goal of strengthening an environment where our student-athletes can succeed academically and athletically.  

Finally, we'd like to thank all the donors who have contributed to this challenge over the years, as well as the supporters who shared the challenge far and wide. Whether people gave their time, talent, or dollars, every contribution has made a meaningful impact to the Warriors varsity experience. Thank you!