’s 2017 Giving Tuesday campaign hit a record-setting $1 million in donations, double what they had been in 2016. During the 2018 campaign, supporters surpassed the $1 million mark again and set a record for the second year in a row.
Kent State’s Division of Institutional Advancement, which oversees the campaign, knows exactly where the credit for this success lies: with alumni and friends of the university.
“For the past two years, we have continued to be overwhelmed by the generosity of Kent State alumni and friends during our Giving Tuesday campaign,” said Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Stephen G. Sokany. “The contributions raised during these month-long campaigns directly benefit our extraordinary students and our university, and the level of support we see is nothing short of astounding.”
Giving Tuesday, traditionally the Tuesday after Thanksgiving following Black Friday and Cyber Monday, is the unofficial, worldwide beginning to a season of philanthropic giving to nonprofits. Kent State will again launch its Giving Tuesday campaign on Nov. 1, transforming what had been a one-day fundraising initiative into a month-long giving campaign supporting student scholarships, expanded programs, athletic teams, modern facilities and more.
This year’s campaign efforts are shaping up to be just as inclusive and impactful as prior years.
Matching Funds Increase the Impact of Your Donation
During the campaign, matching funds will again be available for all of the campaign’s featured funds. The Foundation, Kent state Board of Trustees members, Foundation Board members, President Todd Diacon and private companies have again pledged their support. With dollar-to-dollar matching funds, participation boosts and other matching methods, there are many ways for donations to be matched in some amount by one or more of these groups, thus substantially increasing the impact of individuals’ donations.
A few of the matching gifts include $1,875 from the Middlefield Banking Co. to support Geauga Campus Rising Scholars; $5,000 from the Honors College Advisory Board to support the Honors College Study Away program; $10,000 from the Steve Harvey Foundation to support the Kent State M.E.N. fund; and $7,000 from the College of Education, Health, and Human Services (EHHS) faculty to support EHHS Graduate Research.
Share Your Support; Encourage Others to Do the Same
This year’s campaign will again include a crowdfunding feature. Individuals can make a donation and can also create peer-to-peer fundraising pages for the Kent State cause of their choice. They can then share those pages with everyone in their network by posting about it on social media and emailing family and friends.
Other creative and innovative fundraising initiatives will be pursued by individual areas within the university as well. For example, last year the wrestling team livestreamed a phone-a-thon on Facebook and received donations from 55 alumni donors, totaling more than $4,000. The Kent State track and field/cross-country team also held a phone-a-thon, which received more than $9,000 in donations from 105 alumni donors.
No matter how these funds are raised, this support is only possible because of the combined efforts and generosity of many.
“During this campaign, we see gifts come in from all around the world to support our talented and deserving students and programs,” said Senior Associate Director of Special Giving Initiatives, Danielle Hupp. “Now in its sixth year, Kent State Giving Tuesday exemplifies the Golden Flash philanthropy of giving back – it’s who we are and what we do.”
Sokany agrees.
“This campaign allows us to witness the generosity of thousands of Golden Flash family members coming together, and it’s exceptional,” Sokany said. “They make substantial and sustained impacts across our eight-campus system. Watching this unfold remains a humbling and exciting experience for us.”
Kent State’s Giving Tuesday will begin Nov. 1 and will run through 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 3. More information on all the Giving Tuesday efforts, as well as links to give and create fundraising pages, can be found on the Kent State Giving Tuesday website.