For many organizations, Giving Tuesday has become a yearly chance to invite donors to fundraising events. This year, Fulbright Austria continued its Giving Tuesday tradition of hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for its community of current program participants, alumni, partners, and friends. 100 individuals—including special guest Caroline Casagrande, the deputy assistant secretary for academic programs at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (US Department of State)—came together at Vienna’s Glacis Beisl for an evening of laughter, intergenerational conversation and, of course, delicious food.

This was our third annual Thanksgiving, but this year’s celebration featured a first: musical performances by current program assistants. We would like to thank US students Alexis Rodda and Jane Hines and US teaching assistant Stephanie DePrez for contributing their immense talents to our festive atmosphere.

The event also gave us an opportunity to celebrate the fact that the Fulbright Austria community collectively donated over €12,000 in the weeks leading up to the event—donations that will go toward creating more opportunities for future Fulbrighters. Our heartfelt thanks go out to the 80 members of the community who donated and to all those who helped create yet another memorable Thank Fulbright – Thanksgiving.

To view photos of the event, please check out our Facebook album. We hope you also enjoy the video below, which was filmed and edited by our friends at POPUP TV.