On April 9, the annual A Day of Giving, a campus-wide fundraising day took place in the lower quad. This day, centered around receiving donations for Augustana, was organized by the Advancement Office, the Office of Student Life (OSL) and student leaders.
The school’s goal was to receive 1,860 donations from alumni, staff, faculty and students. The final outcome was a total of 2,174 donations.
A Day of Giving is not only a way to get people to donate but also a celebration of Augustana’s donors and Augustana pride. In order to engage students as much as possible, the event included a petting zoo, bamboo plants for students to take home and take care of, symbolic for the students’ own growth at Augustana and free food and beverages. This is the second year that students are included in A Day of Giving.
“There is an option when you donate that you can choose what group that money goes to. Students don’t often get to choose where their money goes when it comes to their tuition. This way, they know exactly where their money is going to go,’’ Shelby Kuepker, senior and student leader in the OSL, said.
Student donations could go to causes such as sports, academic departments, fraternities, sororities or clubs.
Cameron Hall is the director of the annual Day of Giving and he planned its strategy:
“I think the students really were the secret driving force of the success of the day,’’ Hall said.
Over 350 of the total amounts of donors were student donations.
There was an on-campus battle between the buildings, in which people were invited to donate to Augustana buildings of their choice to see which Augustana building would attract the highest participation of donors.
The winners were the Brodahl building and the Swenson Building and both will receive a banner as a sign of gratitude to those who donated.
The Advancement Office also set up an event in Chicago and the Quad Cities, the two places where most Augustana alumni live. The Quad Cities event ended up attracting the most donors.
Ken Brill, the associate dean and director of the OSL, spoke out on the importance of student donations.
“It ties into civic responsibility. The students tried to create the understanding that although we pay tuition, for a number of students their experience goes beyond and above what they ever dreamed what their experience would be like in college. We want a role-model behavior of giving back, supporting,’’ Brill said.
He hopes to see students get inspired to keep on donating when they have graduated Augustana.
