The final gift of Giving Day came in at 11:57 p.m. Tuesday evening, capping an exciting day of fundraising at 草莓社区.
For a first-time event, the participation was outstanding, said Director of Alumni and Parent Engagement Jeff Shank.
A total of $106,500 was raised from 692 gifts, exceeding goals of $100,000 and 500 gifts.
With a format that encouraged competition and 鈥渟howing the love鈥� for a certain 鈥渂eloved鈥� academic or athletic program, competition for 鈥渧otes鈥� went late into the evening.
The winning academic department and athletic team, which each receive $500, were teacher education and the women鈥檚 volleyball team.
鈥淭his day was really more about love and community spirit than anything else,鈥� said Shank. 鈥淚鈥檝e been overwhelmed by the gratitude that everyone has for this place and how it鈥檚 impacted their life. People see a real and important value in the kind of education offered at EMU and they want to make sure it鈥檚 available now and in the future.鈥�
Students were encouraged to participate by making a gift or reaching out to three contacts with a text or call to encourage donations; 214 undergraduate students participated, surpassing the goal of 100.
Several anonymous generous donors, as well as President Susan Schultz Huxman, offered to match gifts if various goals were met by certain groups, including current and former board of trustee members (38 participated), faculty and staff (155 participated), parents and grandparents (109 participated). A special lunchtime challenge called for 30 gifts during the lunch hour to unlock a matching gift of $5,000; 110 people topped that challenge within the first half hour of the time period.
Love to EMU: Comments from donors
Donors were invited to share why they love EMU. Here’s a sampling of comments.
- 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽I love the encouragement to seek a career that will shape the world we live in.
- 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Excellent academics mixed with exploring the spiritual implications of life learning and vocation.
- 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Providing our daughter with an environment where she can grow in Christ and in confidence.
- 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽I appreciate the professors’ guidance at EMU. They challenged me in a gentle way, helping to nurture in me a reflective, critical, and compassionate worldview. I would not be who I am today without my Middle East cross-cultural experience and the interdisciplinary opportunities my professors nudged me to pursue.
- 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Being here always felt like coming home.
- 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Knowing that alumni like were walking the talk and carrying out the mission of EMU in the real world, which is messy and painful 鈥攖hat makes me believe even deeper in the work of peacebuilding and being a global citizen.
- 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽I love EMU because the people I work with feel like family.
- 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽EMU changed my life and created a space where empathy and non-violence were strengths.
- 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽Commitment to Anabaptist values: EMU teaches you to practice what you preach.
LovEMU Giving Day final numbers 2017
Top five departments receiving votes
- Teacher education 鈥� 71 votes
- Nursing 鈥� 58
- Center for Justice and Peacebuilding 鈥� 56
- Biology and chemistry 鈥� 43
- Business and economics 鈥� 37
Top five athletic teams receiving votes
- Women鈥檚 volleyball 鈥� 93 votes
- Women鈥檚 soccer 鈥� 82
- Men鈥檚 basketball 鈥� 59
- Women鈥檚 basketball 鈥� 48
- Men鈥檚 soccer 鈥� 46