'Extraordinary support' puts Purdue Day of Giving at $110 million in donations
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Boilermakers from all corners of the earth raised a record $110 million on Wednesday, a 24-hour fundraising event that marked the 10th Purdue Day of Giving.
Nearly 28,000 gifts helped the university eclipse last year's total of $68.2 million, also a record at the time, according to Purdue, and brought the decade-old Purdue Day of Giving's cumulative total to $420.5 million.
“Excellence at scale relies on the support from many," said Purdue President Mung Chiang, in a release. "Thank you all for your extraordinary support that made this Purdue Day of Giving a truly historic one, with the milestone results of $110.8 million that shattered our single-day fundraising record by a margin even larger than we ever anticipated. It is an honor to represent the Purdue University system and thank the generous alumni, students, families, colleagues and organizations across the globe. I was particularly privileged to have the ‘investiture run’ and host a ‘community cookout’ on such a meaningful day for our university.”
Some 3,000 Purdue faithful gathered Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the fundraising juggernaut, with festivities that included a 20-foot-high stunt jump on the Memorial Mall.
Purdue Day of Giving benefits campuses in West Lafayette, Purdue Fort Wayne and Purdue Northwest, as well as Purdue Global, the university stated.
Gifts ranged from $10 to $20 million, including:
Transformational gift from Thomas Howatt to support the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business.
$17 million from Jeannie and Jim Chaney to support scholarships in the College of Pharmacy.
$10 million from William and Barbara Rakosnik in support of the School of Mechanical Engineering, the Department of Psychological Sciences and University Residences.
$1.2 million from Walter Gautschi, in memory of Erika Gautschi, for PhD student support in computational mathematics.
$250,000 from Willard Agri-Service to fund the renovation of the sixth-floor conference room in the Agricultural Economics Department.
$50,000 from Michelle Tucker and Darin Melnyk to support a scholarship endowment in the Brian Lamb School of Communication.
Major gift from Jennifer Crandall to support the Emerging Leaders Scholars program, a universitywide diversity initiative.
$10 from Ata Tamer, president of the Turkish Student Association, to support the organization.
“Once again, Boilermakers have shown their Purdue pride by setting another record for dollars raised through a higher education day of giving,” said Matt Folk, president and CEO of the Purdue for Life Foundation and vice president of university advancement and alumni engagement for Purdue University, in a release. “The accomplishments of Purdue’s students, faculty and staff are only possible through the loyal support of our alumni, friends, fans and community members. Thank you to everyone who participated in Purdue Day of Giving, whether it was by making a gift or sharing your Purdue pride with others. Because of your generosity, Purdue is positioned to take its next giant leap.”
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: 'Extraordinary support' puts Purdue Day of Giving at $110M in donations
