Stories

In a highly extraordinary year, Santa Clara University’s eighth annual Day of Giving successfully raised $3.5 million from 4,570 gifts. Donors, alumni, and friends generously supported over 250 student-centered funds, including emergency assistance and diversity scholarship efforts.

More than a third of the dollars raised during the 24-hour fundraising celebration was designated for student scholarships or assistance, including scholarships devoted for students from underrepresented communities.

“These gifts in support of so many programs, schools and centers on campus were a manifestation of how much our community supports our Jesuit mission, our efforts to support student experiences, and our desire to be a place of welcome to stellar students from all backgrounds, ” said Jim Lyons, vice president for university relations.

Among the support for scholarships were $92,260 in gifts for diversity and inclusion initiatives and scholarships —including $65,100 for the University’s Black Excellence Scholarship Fund. The first $30,000 raised for diversity initiatives was matched dollar-for-dollar by Bronco parents Kathryn Sweeney Matt and Brian Matt. The Murphy family donated another $7,500 after the first 100 gifts were received. Nearly $252,000 was raised to support diversity-focused scholarships to the School of Engineering, the School of Law, and the Jesuit School of Theology. The Fr. Coz Scholarship raised $110,805, among other scholarship and assistance funds.

After scholarships, the top recipients by dollars raised were:

• SCU Athletics $461,121
• School of Engineering $333,162
• Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education $328,723
• Jesuit School of Theology $115,425

Throughout the Day, SCU donors were urged to participate by Grand Reunion class committee chairs and ambassadors to help unlock challenges that support areas throughout the campus.

Among this year’s Day of Giving’s many standout moments:

• Donations flowed from 43 states across in the U.S., as well as countries such as Canada (9 gifts); France (7); United Kingdom (4); India (2); and Belarus and Australia (1 each).
• More than 50 units or programs featured special challenges created by donors to spur participation—nearly all of them meeting or exceeding their challenge goals and unlocking an additional $755,000. The Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Innovation, by surpassing 25 gifts, unlocked a $100,000 challenge gift from an anonymous alumni couple. By surpassing 200 gifts and 100 donors, the School of Engineering unlocked two $25,000 gifts from Thomas Bertholdt JD ’77 and the school’s advisory board. The School of Law met each of seven challenges and unlocked $55,000 from interim dean Anna Han ($10,000); Dorian Daley JD '86 and Mike Krautkramer ($5,000); Colleen Davies Ronan JD '83 and Joe Ronan ($15,000) Omar Habbas JD '85 and Rio Habbas ($15,000) and Justice Ed Panelli BS '53, JD '55 ($10,000). By raising more than $10,000 for the Dean's Leadership Fund, the Leavey School of Business earned another $10,000 from a challenge grant by Michele Barnett Gaskill ’02, who also created six other challenge grants that were met throughout the day. 
• Numerous units broke their past Day of Giving records, including the Jesuit School of Theology, which unlocked a $60,000 challenge by receiving 100 gifts, boosting its total to over $115,000. The Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education reached new heights with nearly $329,000 from 273 gifts, including challenge gifts from Lori and Pat Wiley ’85 and Andie ’12 and John Sobrato ’10, and numerous gifts supporting the newly launched program in memory of alumnus Dan McCormick ’86.

The one-day effort was supported by weeks of planning by dozens of University employees. Among the advance work:

• Dozens of social media teams across campus created short videos and social media content exhorting supporters to give to that particular program.
• More than 300 social-media posts were shared across Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

The full results for the day can be found on the Day of Giving website.