Day of Giving pushes lifetime total past $2.5 million

On Feb. 25, Rowan University’s 12 annual Day of Giving mobilized thousands of alumni, students, faculty, staff, families and friends demonstrating the power of collective generosity. The 24-hour fundraising celebration unites the entire Rowan community and supports programs, teams, clubs and groups across the University.

This year’s event raised $439,967 from 3,068 individual gifts. Building on more than a decade of momentum, the growth of Day of Giving continues to signal enthusiastic support across the University community.

Donors see their gifts go further on the Day of Giving through an array of matches and challenges. Whether supporting an academic college or department, team or student organization, contributions directly strengthen programs, create opportunities and help students forge successful futures. Now in Rowan’s fifth year of using leaderboards, matches and challenges to reward campus partners for their fundraising efforts, the University has more than tripled the amount raised annually for the online event.

“While some challenges remain consistent, we try to add new opportunities for our participating campus units to earn much-needed funds for their respective departments,” said Kaylee Collins, Director of Annual Giving. “We like to keep an element of surprise so that our campus partners can strategize but can’t over plan, allowing for the winners of leaderboards and bonus funds to change each year.”   

This year, the on-campus event was hosted in the new Student Center expansion with tabling stations that offered students fun ways to get involved. A Gratitude Garden grew as students wrote what they are thankful for on an individual petal and stuck it to a flower, creating a garden of brown-eyed Susans filled with sentiments of appreciation.

For the first time, Day of Giving included a Philanthropy Scavenger hunt. With more than $7,000 up for grabs, donor-sponsored plush owls were hidden across multiple campuses for students to find. Each owl was valued at $250 and allowed its finder to designate bonus dollars to the University fund most meaningful to them.

Competitors on and off the field, the Rowan softball team had a strong showing with team members discovering seven owls, earning the softball program $1,750 in bonus funds. Members from the team split up into two groups to canvas the campus.

“Let’s just say if a challenge is thrown our way, we are all in to try and win,” said Emily McCutcheon, senior MAJOR on the team.

Senior Lindsey Cahill says the extra dollars will help offset the costs for spring training trips, new equipment, team gear and updated technology to help them grow as players.

Varsity Athletics has more than doubled the amount raised for the division in the last two years.

“The philanthropic response from our alumni community, friend network, and our very own faculty and staff was tremendous, resulting in a record-breaking single day of giving,” said Shawn Tucker, Director of Athletics. “Our student athletes are over the moon, our coaches are enthused and our staff is beyond grateful for the outpouring of support!”

Forging Forward

This year’s Day of Giving also contributed to FORGING FORWARD: The Campaign for Rowan University, an initiative that has already raised more than $240 million to support students, innovation and Rowan’s regionwide impact. Day of Giving served as a reminder that gifts of every size help fuel the campaign’s long-term goals to enhance the student experience and further research and innovation. 

Over the past 12 years, Rowan’s Day of Giving has raised more than $2.5 million to create better and brighter futures for students and the entire Rowan community.