Why I Give on Rutgers Giving Day
Four alumni explain why they give regularly and plan to give on Giving Day 2026, which will take place on Friday, April 24.
The influence of Rutgers University in Jim Berg’s life is immeasurable. It’s where he met his wife, Adrienne, when they were undergraduates in the late ‘90s.
“We both feel that our success today is due to the experiences we had at Rutgers,” says Berg, who went on from New Brunswick to earn a J.D. degree from Rutgers Law School in Newark and become a partner at PIB Law. “We firmly believe that Rutgers helped mold us and we owe a debt for that.”
The Bergs will make a gift to the university on April 24, which has been designated as Rutgers Giving Day. The once-a-year event rallies alumni and friends of the university to advance Rutgers together.
“It’s a day for the RU community to come together in the spirit of philanthropy to advance the countless programs that embody Rutgers’ core values,” says Berg, who is vice chair of the Rutgers University Foundation Board of Directors. “Giving Day provides an opportunity or a reason to reflect on our own personal experiences at RU and pay it forward.”
Dina Cooper-Williams, a graduate of Rutgers–Camden, has a similar story of Rutgers in her life. She met her husband, Frederick, while an undergraduate and prepared herself for a career.
“Rutgers played a foundational role in my journey on both personal and professional levels,” says Cooper-Williams, who is a supplier diversity program manager for American Water. “My time at Rutgers–Camden taught me the value of relationship building and community engagement, which play a huge part in all that I do today.”
A member of the Rutgers University Alumni Association board, she plans to participate in this year’s Rutgers Giving Day.
“It is a great way to give back to an amazing university and assist in the meaningful work being done on so many levels,” she says. “Gifts to the university support students as they prepare to make their marks on the world.”
Kenneth Johnson has been giving back to Rutgers for four decades and has supported all the annual Rutgers Giving Day efforts, which began in 2015. He says that giving to the university is encouraged on every day of the year, but that the designated day for giving is a rallying point.
“Rutgers Giving Day is very special because we’re all doing it together as one team, working toward a goal that is critically important to us—the success and growth of the university and its students,” says Johnson, who earned an engineering degree in 1966 and went on to an extraordinary aerospace career at Lockheed Martin. “It is a really fantastic way to be a member of the team and contribute in return for all that we have received as graduates from the university.”
Johnson, who has been honored by the university’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni and now serves as chair of the Board of Trustees, says that alumni have the opportunity to make a difference on Giving Day.
“I think it's important that we all do it for two fundamental reasons,” he says. “One is to show that we're all in, and the other is that students and the departments need our support.”
Talib Morgan, who after earning his undergraduate degree in 1996 from Rutgers–Newark went on to earn an MBA from the Rutgers Business School in 1998, has stayed involved with the university since he graduated, and now serves as chair of the Rutgers University Alumni Association (RUAA). Both of his younger sisters followed him in earning degrees from Newark, and his wife, Dr. Ayanna Woltz, an obstetrician and gynecologist, holds undergraduate and medical degrees from Rutgers.
“We benefited from all that Rutgers has to offer,” says Morgan, who has founded and leads technology firms and a nonprofit organization.
He said Giving Day is a way to look forward and repay the support that Rutgers gives its alumni.
“Giving Day is an opportunity to help the next generation find their way,” Morgan says. “It allows us to support current students as they develop the same passion and pride for Rutgers that so many of us carry long after graduation. Ultimately, it’s a meaningful way for us to say, ‘thank you.’”
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