An all-time record-breaking 2,824 members of the Case Western Reserve community came together during the university’s annual Day of Giving to Make It Possible for the student experience.
Faculty and staff, students and families, alumni and friends contributed a total of $1,196,212 to CWRU programs—the fourth-highest amount in the campaign’s 11 years.
Friendly competition between schools, campus centers and athletic teams brought excitement to the crowdfunding campaign, all in the spirit of garnering awareness and support for 102 funds that directly impact CWRU students, faculty and staff.
Student athletes got creative on social media to promote their teams and thank supporters. The men’s soccer team, for example, made videos showcasing how gifts help replace broken equipment and livestream games with state-of-the-art technology.
In the end, the softball team raised the most among the varsity Spartans, receiving more than $13,000 in total from 250 contributors—the highest donor count of any university group.
The President’s Strategic Initiative Fund claimed the highest overall dollar amount of the day, with gifts exceeding $62,000. This unrestricted fund allows President Eric W. Kaler to expand the university’s research infrastructure and create more community engagement opportunities.
Matching challenges gave university supporters the opportunity to help release additional funds. Donors met 10 challenges in all, including:
- $80,000 from Case Western Reserve’s Board of Trustees after the university surpassed its goal of 2,023 supporters;
- $30,000 from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences’ Visiting Committee in a dollar-for-dollar match; and
- $20,000 from Weatherhead School of Management Co-Deans J.B. Silvers and Andrew Medvedev in a one-to-one match.
Donors Candace and Vince (MED ’73) Gaudiani leveraged $50,000 to encourage support of the Dream Fund and the Jason Madachy Foundation matched $6,800 in gifts to CWRU’s School of Medicine to provide incoming students with stethoscopes.
“It was truly incredible to witness our community rally around the university,” said Candace Harmon, director of annual giving. “It just goes to show how important Case Western Reserve is to alumni, faculty and staff, and to our students and their families.”
The Office of Annual Giving hosted Day of Giving activities at Tinkham Veale University Center, complete with a photobooth and raffle prizes. While there, students wrote 75 thank-you cards to donors. Alumni accounted for 23% of the day’s total donors, with parents and families coming in at 13%, students at 10%, and faculty and staff at 9%—and 30% of the total were first-time givers.
“Scholarships and financial aid made it possible for me to receive a world-class education at CWRU,” wrote one alumna on LinkedIn. “That’s why I’m paying it forward with my gift for today’s students.”
Did you miss the Day of Giving campaign? You can help Make It Possible for students at Case Western Reserve University with your gift any day of the year. Learn more at case.edu/give.