For the third consecutive year, Tech students have the opportunity to contribute to and award a group gift to the campus project they deem most worthy.

The annual Gift to Tech program from the Student Alumni Association (SAA) lets students vote for which project will earn a bounty that has averaged more than $20,000 the past two years. The gift is meant to provide a way for students to starting giving back to Tech while still on campus.

The gift's sum is a fluid number, as it includes $5 from every SAA member plus a $10,000 match from alumnus Allen Ecker (EE 1957, MS EE 1958). The current gift total already tops $25,000 from a member base of more than 3,000 students, but Catie McCoy, student organizations manager for the Georgia Tech Alumni Association, anticipates it will grow as students continue to join throughout the rest of the year.

“Even as students join SAA after the gift is announced, their donations will be included as well,” she said. A team of SAA students compiled the list of potential recipients and worked with them to fine-tune the specifics of what the gift would fund in each area. 

This year’s potential beneficiaries represent the many varied interests of Tech students, including academic advising, bicycle infrastructure, campus safety, tutoring services, the marching band, student entrepreneurship and innovation, the TEAM Buzz day of service and an SAA student award endowment fund. Full descriptions of how the funds would be spent for each are available at SAA’s website. 

Last year, more than $25,000 went to the Dean Dull Ramblin’ Reck Endowment to fund the maintenance and preservation of the historic automobile and school mascot.

“We’d started the endowment fund, but the SAA gift brought it up significantly,” said Stephen Webber, a fourth-year business administration major and 2012 Ramblin’ Reck driver. “With fundraising, any little bit helps and gets others motivated.” Since receiving the gift last May, Webber and the Ramblin’ Reck Club have raised another $20,000 to provide a financial safety net for the coveted automobile. 

In 2011, the Office of Solid Waste Management and Recycling earned more than $20,000 for campus recycling that funded new containers throughout campus.

All currently enrolled students have until March 15 to cast a vote; they must log in to vote at gtsaa.com/giftvote with their Georgia Tech username and password. Voting will reopen on March 25 to SAA members only. Each member can cast one more vote for one of the top three projects from the first round of voting. Faculty and staff are not eligible to vote.

The 2013 Gift to Tech will be announced the week of April 22, with a celebration and presentation by the Student Alumni Association leadership and Allen Ecker at the Campanile on April 23 at 11 a.m.