This year’s Phil’s Day festivities, set to occur today, will include postcard signings to send thank-yous to donors, the tagging of buildings and programs made possible by donor donations, and the visit of guest speaker and philanthropy contributor Jerre Stead at the IMU.

Marshall, who has been the foundation president since August 2006, has spearheaded a number of philanthropy initiatives, including Phil’s Day, which was launched in 2012.

“The campaign for faculty and staff is usually held in the fall, but staff are encouraged to support philanthropy efforts throughout the year,” said Joni Troester, the director for human resources services and a We Are Phil faculty and staff co-head.

Anthony Lehnertz, a UI student and the president of the Student Philanthropy Group, said he has seen definite signs that awareness has grown in the student population.

“One thing that’s kind of tough with awareness of philanthropy is we probably won’t see a huge impact until five or ten years down the line when students that are becoming aware today have the monetary ability to give back to the University of Iowa,” Lehnertz said.