Marietta College held its fifth annual Day of Giving this past week, continuing its trajectory of achieving its fundraising goals and shattering previous records for dollars raised and the number of donors who participate.
The College holds its Day of Giving — an online, time-limited fundraising initiative that encourages alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff and friends to make a difference by making a gift of $5 or more — as a part of its Founders Day celebration each February 14.
This year, the College raised more than $227,000 from more than 1300 donors during the event — up from $192,000 and 1,200 participants in 2020.
According to Kathryn Gloor, Senior Director of Annual Giving at Marietta College, the initiative is planned and led primarily by members of the Marietta College Alumni Association (MCAA) and other volunteers who serve as Advocates, reaching out to their networks via social media and other venues to encourage participation.
Gloor reports that 110 alumni volunteers served as Advocates for this year’s event, with an overall alumni participation rate of 7 percent. This is a particularly impressive rate for alumni participation, as the national average for similarly-sized schools hovers around 8 percent for an entire year of giving.
“As difficult as the past year has been in many ways, we’re encouraged by the love that so many Pioneers continue to share with Marietta College,” Gloor said. “We set new Day of Giving records for both revenue and participation, and the impact that has on today’s Pioneers is incredibly important. Not only will these gifts help to ensure that our students have everything they need to complete the year successfully and safely, but the incredible show of support has touched everyone on campus.”
The Marietta Fund supports every aspect of the College – from student aid and student life to academics and athletics. Marietta Fund resources are targeted to areas of greatest need, and this flexibility had a tremendous impact on the College’s ability to safely hold in-person learning on campus this year.
The College hopes to raise a total of $3 million for The Marietta Fund this year, a number that was breached for the first time in its history last year. They also hope to achieve an alumni participation rate of 20 percent for the year, an increase from 18.6 percent in FY 2019-2020.
For more information about the Day of Giving and The Marietta Fund, please contact Senior Director of Annual Giving Kathryn Gloor at 740-376-4620 or Kathryn.Gloor@marietta.edu.