THE RED & BLUE CHALLENGE IS BACK FOR #GIVINGTUESDAY, December 2!
The Red and Blue Challenge, a
week-long giving competition for all varsity teams, band & cheer, will kick off on Tuesday, November 25, 2025 lasting through #GivingTuesday, December 2, 2025, where teams will compete for bonus prize money towards their annual fund in competition categories described below.
GROUPS
Each varsity team has been placed into one of three Competition Groups. Varsity sport groups are determined by population of living alumni for each sport.
COMPETITION CATEGORIES
Each varsity team has a chance to win bonus prize money towards their annual fund in the following competition categories:
- Most Dollars Raised by 11:59 PM EST on Monday, 12/1/25 (Beat the Rush!): Awarded to the top two varsity sports in each group that raise the most dollars from gifts of at least $25 towards their varsity annual fund from November 25, 2025 through 11:59 PM EST on December 1, 2025
- First Place: $2,500
- Second Place: $1,000
- Most Dollars Raised by 11:59 PM EST on Giving Tuesday, 12/2/25: Awarded to the top two varsity sports that raise the most dollars from gifts of at least $25 towards their varsity annual fund from November 25, 2025, through 11:59 PM EST on December 2, 2025, (awarded to first and second place winners in each group)
- First Place: $5,000
- Second Place: $2,500
- Young Alumni Participation Challenge: $2,000 will be awarded to each sport (by fund) that reaches their young alumni participation goal.
Gifts of at least $25 from former varsity alumni (graduation years 2011 – 2025) towards their sport’s varsity annual fund from November 25, 2025, through 11:59 PM EST on December 2, 2025, count towards this year’s young alumni participation.
An additional $2,000 will be awarded to the team with the highest young alumni participation rate!
Below is a chart of each sport’s young alumni participation goal for this year’s Red & Blue Challenge
GRAND PRIZES
- Highest Percentage Raised towards FY26 Annual Fund Goal: Awarded to the varsity sport that raises the highest percentage of dollars raised towards their FY26 annual fund goal (regardless of group) from gifts of at least $25 towards their annual fund from November 25, 2025, through 11:59 PM EST on December 2, 2025
- Tiered Prize by Group
- Group 1: $10,000
- Group 2: $7,500
- Group 3: $5,000
- Most Dollars Raised Overall by 11:59PM EST on Giving Tuesday 12/2/25: Awarded to the varsity sport that raises the most dollars overall (regardless of group) from gifts of at least $25 towards their annual fund from November 25, 2025, through 11:59 PM EST on December 2, 2025
- Tiered Prize by Group
- Group 1: $10,000
- Group 2: $7,500
- Group 3: $5,000
- Penn Champions Club Honorable Mention: Awarded to the varsity sport that sees the highest rate of improvement (regardless of group) from prior year’s Red & Blue Challenge participation rates based from November 25, 2025, through 11:59 PM EST on December 2, 2025 (determined by the Penn Champions Club; sports placing in the Giving Tuesday challenge or other Grand Prize winners are not eligible)
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Starting midnight on Tuesday, November 25, 2025,
through 11:59 pm EST on #GivingTuesday, December 2, 2025, you can make a qualifying gift (minimum donation of $25) to your favorite Penn Athletics team that counts towards the Red & Blue Challenge in the following ways:
ONLINE – 12 AM EST 11/25/25 THROUGH 11:59 PM EST 12/2/25
OFFLINE – 12 AM EST 11/25/25 THROUGH 5:00 PM EST 12/2/25
- Phone: Call the Penn Champions Club at 215-898-4717 to make a credit card gift by phone on or before 5 PM on December 2, 2025
- To ensure your information is handled securely, we'll connect you with a secure line to safely process your credit card gift
- Checks, Stocks, Wires, Crypto: Notify the Penn Champions Club prior to 5:00 PM on 12/2 of any gifts of stock, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or checks that you intend to count towards the Red and Blue Challenge
- No offline gifts will be included after 5:00 PM EST on 12/2/25
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the minimum donation amount to qualify for the Challenge?
- In order to be counted as a donor towards the Red and Blue challenge, you must make a gift to that sport (by fund) of at least $25.
Does my gift made earlier in the fiscal year counts towards the Challenge?
- We will only be counting donors and dollars raised throughout the Red and Blue Challenge (11/25/25 through 12/02/25) when determining a winner in each category.
- Gifts made through the Red & Blue Challenge postcard will be added to the donor count on 11/25/25 when the challenge begins. Gifts made earlier in the fiscal year do not count towards Red and Blue Challenge participation or dollars raised. Donors may still make an additional qualifying gift during the Challenge to count towards the Challenge dollar total and young alumni participation (for varsity alumni).
I prefer to give by wire/check/stocks/crypto. How can my gift count towards the Challenge?
- If you prefer to make a gift by check, securities, cryptocurrency, or wire transfer, you must notify the Penn Champions Club prior to 5:00 PM on 12/02 in order for these gifts to be counted towards Red and Blue Challenge participation. These gifts will be included on the Scoreboard and count towards the Challenge totals.
- No offline gifts will be included after 5:00 PM EST on 12/02/25.
Who counts towards young alumni participation?
- Former varsity athletes to their respective varsity sport (graduation years 2011 – 2025) count towards young alumni participation. Current student-athletes are not considered alumni.
For example: Jane Doe is a former varsity Rower, who graduated in 2012, and makes a $25 gift to Rowing and a $25 gift to Volleyball during the Challenge (total donation of $50). Their $25 donation counts towards the dollar total for Rowing, and their $25 donation to Volleyball counts towards the dollar total for Volleyball.
Jane counts towards young alumni participation percentage for Rowing only.
Can I make multiple gifts to the same sport?
- A donor is defined as a singular person representing themselves as the donor to their fund(s) of choice. That person should use their own personal address and credit card (or other preferred giving method) to make their own donation to their fund(s) of choice.
For example, a husband and wife may each make separate gifts to the same fund and each will count as a separate unique donor. However, they should not make gifts on behalf of any other alumni, family members, neighbors, or friends, etc. in an attempt to count as multiple donors.
- Each donor will only be counted on the scoreboard once per sport fund. The scoreboard will be periodically updated throughout the challenge to correct incidents where repeat donors make multiple gifts to the same fund attempting to count as multiple donors. Donors who make repeat gifts to one fund will be counted as one Red and Blue Challenge donor with their cumulative giving to their chosen fund.
What if there is a tie in a competition category?
- In the event of a tie, bonus prize money in that category will be shared evenly between the tying programs. This applies to all competition categories.
When will the winners of the Challenge be announced?
- The Penn Champions Club will announce the Red and Blue Challenge winners once all gifts are tallied and reconciled. While the Red and Blue Challenge Scoreboard is live for online gifts, the Penn Champions Club still completes a full audit of the results at the conclusion of the Challenge after midnight on 12/02/25 to ensure that all qualifying gifts are accounted for properly.
- Official Challenge winners will be announced when the final results are audited upon the conclusion of the Challenge.
- The official Challenge results and winner announcement will be made by the Penn Champions Club by email and on social media in the days following the Challenge.
OTHER QUESTIONS?
Contact the Penn Champions Club at 215-746-5125 or
penncc@upenn.edu
