Fresno State’s Day of Giving annual fundraising campaign returned for its third year, bringing in a grand total of $550,366 from 2,161 individual donors, according to preliminary estimates.
Donations came from 40 states and 10 countries, including Australia, Germany, Italy and Japan, according to a university news release.
A 20 percent increase was made this year in comparison to 2018, when the campaign raised $455,215 from 42 states and 18 countries.
The fundraiser began at midnight on Thursday and ran until 11:59 p.m., with various activities scheduled throughout the day to promote the daylong event.
The first of the day’s activities was a rally outside the Save Mart Center at 5 a.m.
Students, faculty and staff gathered with signs, cheering as morning traffic passed by. The Bulldog Marching Band, Victor E. Bulldog and TimeOut also made appearances to support the event.
One of the attendees of the early morning rally was Paula Castadio, vice president for University Advancement. Castadio said that the key to raising awareness of the fundraiser was participation and involvement from the campus community.
“Today is really about participation, No. 1, and the dollars will follow,” Castadio said. “So the more people that get on board, the more giving that will support the university.”
A total of 2,877 gifts were received across various colleges, departments and programs. The College of Arts and Humanities was gifted 514 gifts, making it No. 1 on the list for the third year in a row.
All funds raised will go toward scholarships, internship programs, research and improved learning spaces.
A live leaderboard tracked the money raised throughout the day.
The campaign was trending on Fresno State’s social media accounts, which received over 900,000 impressions on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram combined.
The fundraiser allows faculty, staff, alumni and community members to donate to the college, school, division or program of their choosing.
Collegian Editor in Chief Seth Casey contributed to this story.