1,000 Gifts in 24 Hours? No Problem!

The first gift was made online at 12:07 a.m., the last by phone at 11:55 p.m. In one for the record books, the Lewis & Clark community from Palatine Hill to Sri Lanka came together to support students, faculty, and programs with a total of 1,753 gifts—and smash through the goal of collecting 1,000 gifts in 24 hours.

Exceeding that ambitious goal raised $172,120 and unlocked a $100,000 challenge match that brought the total for the day to $272,120.

It all happened on April 5, 2016, the first-ever LC Day of Giving, when College of Arts and Sciences alumni, parents, students, faculty, and staff were encouraged to donate money in any amount to support Lewis & Clark’s distinctive educational experiences.

The event’s sponsors included Board Chair Scott Dubchansky and his wife, Laurie; the Laycox family; the Board of Alumni; President Barry Glassner; Vice President and Provost Jane Atkinson; Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Catherine Kodat; and Dean of Students Anna Gonzalez.

The day’s overwhelming success reflected the combined efforts of many constituencies working together in common purpose.

• The outreach efforts of 60 alumni and parent volunteers helped generate gifts from 977 College of Arts and Sciences alumni and current and past parents.
• Nineteen student volunteers took the lead in educating classmates about the impact of their gifts, collected contributions across campus, and set mini-flags in the Glade to represent the number of donors. (They exhausted their supply as the gifts kept coming.)
• Faculty, many sporting themed T-shirts, announced the event in their classes, e-mailed alumni, and talked about the value of developing a spirit of philanthropy.
• Staff in the Division of Student Life led initiatives to keep the momentum going—including recurring social media appearances by Dean Anna Gonzalez’s dog, Rafa, who built a sizeable Twitter following while making five outfit changes promoting the event throughout the day.

The breakthrough gift—number 1,001—came at 2:30 p.m., 14 and a half hours into the Day of Giving. Donors designated their gifts to the College of Arts and Sciences Annual Fund, the newly established Diversity and Inclusion Fund, Pioneers for Pioneers, scholarships, and several other funds supporting academic and cocurricular programs.

Leann Knapp, a graduating senior, posted her motivations for giving on Instagram, including, “I know that if I want to see positive change at LC, a big part of that is funding the means to make that change… . I want to secure the opportunities Lewis & Clark has given me for other students in the future.”