At 9:41 p.m. on Thursday, April 18, the University of Lynchburg’s GiveDay total sat at $219,677. Most of the challenges and matches — everything from the Afghanistan Student Education Fund to the tennis team — were on their way to being met.
It had been a long day that included hours of live broadcasts and social media posts. At noon, the University’s new Mission, Vision, and Values statement was released, and at 5 p.m. water fight on the Dell celebrated the 500-donor mark.
Still one goal loomed: the 1,000-donor goal set for the 2024 event. It’s at 991 — 99% of the goal. Fortunately, the Lynchburg faithful didn’t call it a night. They stayed up and kept giving. Nineteen minutes later, at 10 p.m., victory: 1,000 donors for a total of $222,344.
By the next morning, when University President Dr. Alison Morrison-Shetlar and Office of Advancement staffers Erika Mork and Dr. Mike Bonnette rang the Garren Victory Bell, the total had increased to 1,083 donors and $229,021.
“We’re so grateful for how our alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, leadership, and friends showed their love for Lynchburg this year on GiveDay — including 100% participation from the University’s board of trustees,” Bonnette, vice president for advancement, said.
“Thank you to everyone who provided matches and challenges and gave so generously to help make the day such a success. We knew we could count on our community, and they really came through.”
Still, gifts continued to trickle in. By Friday, April 27, more than 1,150 donors had given in excess of $259,000. In an email to the campus community on the following Monday, Morrison-Shetlar described the ninth-annual GiveDay as “absolutely incredible.”
She added, “Together, with the money raised by Athletics in the fall ($82,000), this will go down in the history books as one of the most successful GiveDays ever!”
By the time all of the GiveDay gifts had been accounted for, the University raised a total of $270,465 from 1,155 individual donors. According to Mork, director of institutional giving at Lynchburg, 222 —about 20% — of these individuals were first-time donors to the University.
“It was a joy to see our campus community come together for Founders Week and specifically for GiveDay,” Morrison-Shetlar said. “All gifts, no matter their size, make an undeniably life-changing difference for our students.
“The support given to The Lynchburg Fund and many other funds means the world to us and provides a solid foundation for our next 121 years.”
