CSB and SJU exceed goals in 24-hour fundraising challenge

On a cold November day, students, alumnae/i, parents, friends, faculty and staff truly showed they have a warm heart for the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University.

Both CSB and SJU held their largest 24-hour fundraisers in school history on Wednesday, Nov. 12, with 1,653 donors contributing to the two schools.

The two colleges had different goals and challenges, and each exceeded its goals.

CSB sponsored the "$100K in a Day" challenge, with a goal of raising $250,000 in 24 hours. A total of 848 donors from 39 states, the District of Columbia and two countries contributed $285,376.02 throughout the day. Eleven challenge donors who came forward with a $125,000 matching grant donation gave to support current scholarships, while the remaining donors could choose to give to a preferred destination.

"We are so grateful and overwhelmed with the response we received from our community of supporters in response to our $100K in a Day challenge," said Maggie Weber Utsch '00, director of annual giving at CSB. "We saw the importance of the goal and were able to achieve our largest single-day of online giving in Saint Ben's history. This is an extraordinary example of what is possible when we come together as a community."

SJU sponsored the "Give SJU Day" challenge, with a donor goal of 500 in 24 hours. A total of 805 donors from 42 states and four countries raised $184,392. The money raised by SJU will fund scholarships for SJU students. The challenge was offered by a group of 13 donors who pledged an additional $100 for each donation made, regardless of amount.

"Our donors made history on Give SJU Day this year," said Raj Chaphalkar '08, SJU director of annual giving. "It was our largest single-day donor total in Saint John's history. I'm grateful to our generous donors, including many who became first-time donors on Give SJU Day."

This was the second year that CSB and SJU hosted their own 24-hour giving challenges, although it was the first time both occurred on the same day. The colleges both exceeded giving day goals last year.

Both of these efforts are part of larger fundraising efforts that both CSB and SJU conduct individually to provide scholarships to students.