More than 2,600 donors combine for $1.55 million in support—breaking the one-day donor participation record yet again
For the sixth straight year, Case Western Reserve asked its community to come together in support of the university during the 2018 All [in] Day of Giving. And earlier this week, the community did just that—with unprecedented support.
A total of 2,609 individuals donated to the university during this year’s Day of Giving, giving a total of $1.55 million—a 43 percent increase in donors and 237 percent increase in dollars over the 2017 event. Compared to the inaugural installment of the Day of Giving just six years ago, this year there were 228 percent more donors and 693 percent more money raised.
And, nearly 30 percent of this year’s donors were first-time supporters of Case Western Reserve.
“We are overwhelmed and grateful for the amazing response to this year’s All [in] Day of Giving,” said John Templeman, senior director of annual giving. “The CWRU community once again showed how extremely generous they are, and this effort will benefit many students in the upcoming academic year.”
Prior to the start of this year’s campaign, each school and unit set a donor participation goal. Ultimately, 10 of the 13 departments and schools reached or exceeded the goals for number of donors supporting their units.
But there was an added incentive to a unit besting its goal with the highest percentage: The unit that did would receive $15,000 in additional funding. Athletics, with 707 donors raising $32,108, beat its participation goal by 384 percent to win the competition.
Support for the Day of Giving came from all over the world, with donors from 45 states and 14 countries.
Individuals who gave self-identified as alumni, faculty/staff, friends of the university, parents or students—with the option to select more than one category. Alumni represented the largest demographic of donors at 46 percent, followed by faculty/staff at 23 percent, friends of the university at 16 percent, parents at 11 percent and students at 10 percent.
To express the university’s gratitude, a live-stream was held throughout the day with campus community members writing each donor name on a white board and displaying it on camera. Because of increased donor commitment, this year, the live-stream was offered for 12 hours instead of last year’s eight. Additionally, at the top of each hour, videos were streamed to showcase academic programs, student activities and performances, research projects and more.
Many donors received an email with a screenshot of their name being shown during the livestream. Several individuals replied to those emails, with some sharing why they chose to give this year.
One alumna explained that she was inspired to give by her own Case Western Reserve University experience, which was afforded to her through grants and scholarships. And, she said, she knows that without that support, she wouldn’t be a dentist today.
For that reason, she was “happy to help” by joining the Day of Giving.