LMU’s 2024 Day of Giving campaign was a resounding success, raising $1,636,661 in support of programs, scholarships, faculty, and more. Taking place over a focused 24-hour period on Feb. 13, the campaign was a rousing community effort that brought together alumni, students, faculty, staff, friends, and supporters in an exciting race to generate substantial funds for the university. In total, 2,738 donors gave 2,706 gifts to support LMU’s vision of igniting a brighter world.
“Thank you to the more than 2,700 donors worldwide who gave in support of our students, faculty, and programs,” said Peter Wilch, senior vice president for University Advancement. “I’m especially proud to note that 200 of those donors are current students, reflecting a promising future for LMU philanthropy. Together we made LMU Day of Giving 2024 a huge success — and set the stage for continuing success in years to come.”
This year, an extraordinary number of donors stepped up to offer a variety of matching and challenge funds totaling $713,100. Not only did these efforts encourage more gift-giving, they showed the generosity and enthusiasm that is building worldwide for LMU’s mission, values, and programming. In a truly global effort, gifts throughout the day came from 43 states and 15 countries including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Italy, Kuwait, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom, and others.
Every sector across LMU’s three campuses enjoyed energetic support. LMU Athletics led the way by raising nearly $395,000 from 816 donors. The LMU College of Business Administration, currently the college with the largest enrollment at LMU, raised more than $317,000 from 236 donors; this included the largest gift of the day, a $100,000 donation toward the CBA Venture Capital Fund. LMU Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering raised nearly $208,000 from 186 donors, supporting featured areas such as student scholarships, engineering capstone projects, and the Summer Opportunities for Advanced Research (SOAR) program.
Rounding out the top five areas of support on this year’s leaderboard, Student Affairs received nearly $148,000 from 874 donors, supporting student organizations and campus life programs, while diversity and access scholarships and programs received more than $66,000 from 146 donors. The Lion Emergency Fund, which supports students navigating crisis and emergency situations, was the top earner among student organizations, raising more than $37,000 from 37 donors. Other notable gifts included $50,000 from emeritus Philosophy Department faculty member Richard Morris, Ph.D., to support the William H. Hannon Library and an anonymous $50,000 gift toward women’s water polo.
The day’s success was a broad-based effort, with a total of 101 Advocates — comprised of students, alumni, faculty, staff, parent, and friends — who contributed to Day of Giving and actively encouraged others to give through online tools. In addition, 17 student organizations were active on the Westchester campus to help raise awareness. These groups included the African Student Association, the Crimson Circle Service Organization, Latinx Business Association, Special Games, and Women in Animation, among others. Social media also helped to get the word out, as LMU’s various channels used the #LMUDayofGiving hashtag to push out challenges and results throughout the day, generating nearly 2,400 post engagements and more than 108,000 post impressions.
“This year was a big win for us in terms of how our students were engaged in Day of Giving and how many donors supported our efforts,” said Kawanna Leggett, senior vice president for Student Affairs. “These are both a testament to our student’s outreach and how our community lives out our Jesuit and Marymount values of caring for the whole person and being people for and with others.”
This story was updated on March 19, 2024, with confirmed 2024 Day of Giving totals following a final audit of gifts received.
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