91ֿ’s Giving Tuesday 2018 broke the million-dollar mark for the second year in a row. Just before midnight on Tuesday, Nov. 27, the campaign raised more than $1,030,000 to support multiple student study abroad scholarships, research opportunities, educational programs, athletic teams and more. There were more than 40 featured giving options across the 91ֿ system from which donors could choose.
“Seeing our Golden Flash family come together in such an exceptional way to support the university during Giving Tuesday is a humbling and exciting experience,” says Stephen G. Sokany, vice president for institutional advancement at 91ֿ and executive director of the 91ֿ Foundation. “The generosity of thousands of individuals will make a sustaining impact across our eight-campus system. We are deeply grateful that our 91ֿ supporters again helped us raise more than $1 million to further the university’s mission to provide the most impactful educational experience possible for all of our students.”
While Giving Tuesday is officially recognized as the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, 91ֿ put its own spin on this international day of philanthropy by kicking off the season of giving on Nov. 1. This is the second year for the monthlong campaign and the university’s fifth year celebrating Giving Tuesday.
Individual donors provided various matching incentives, while the 91ֿ Foundation provided $150,000 for participation boosts leading up to Giving Tuesday and then for one-to-one matching on Nov. 27. These incentives encouraged supporters to give at a time when their gifts would have the most impact on students, scholarships and programs. A total of nearly $300,000 was available in matching funds this year.
The Giving Tuesday fund that saw the largest amount of support during the campaign was 91ֿ Baseball, which raised more than $36,500. The fund with the largest number of donors throughout the month was 91ֿ Track and Field with nearly 170 unique supporters.
“During this year’s Giving Tuesday, we saw gifts come in from all around the world to support our talented and deserving students and programs,” says Danielle Hupp, senior associate director of special giving initiatives at 91ֿ. “Now in our fifth year, Giving Tuesday has become a tradition amongst our Golden Flash community. People came forward this year to offer matching gifts, start their own crowdfunding pages and rally support for the university. The whole 91ֿ community got behind us to prove that Golden Flashes give back – it’s who we are and what we do.”
For a complete list of all the funds that were featured in the Giving Tuesday campaign, please visit www.kent.edu/GivingTuesday.