By Theresa Schliep
After Americans waited in line on Friday to buy 50 inch TV’s at half price and sat in the comfort of their beds on Cyber Monday to get 20 percent off Adidas sneakers, the university celebrated Giving Tuesday through a fundraising effort.
Donors committed a total of $556,194 to the university for financial aid and scholarships, according to Kelsey Miles from the Fordham Fund. The average donation was $399.85, coming from 1,391 donors.
The overwhelming majority of gifts came from Fordham alumni. Of the total donations, 68 percent of gifts came from alumni, 10 percent from parents, 5 percent from faculty and staff, 3 percent from friends of the university and 2 percent from current students, according to Miles.
Parents of the class of 2020 had the majority of donors for the undergraduate classes. Forty-four donors raised $12,210.
An anonymous donor donated $50,000 after 800 donors made a gift. Another donor, Jerry Crotty, FCRH ’73, current trustee and past parent made a gift of $50,000 because 250 people made a gift between 5 p.m. and 3 a.m.
The Fordham Fund is an “unrestricted fund that goes to the university’s greatest needs,” according to Miles. Donors could choose where the money went. They could, for instance, donate money to scholarships for the men’s basketball team.
The fundraising was completed through a large outreach campaign. The university used Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to get the word out about Giving Tuesday, as well as postcards, emails and phone calls.
Noelle Beale, Ph.D., FCRH ’97 and GSE ’13, saw Giving Tuesday as an opportunity to show her appreciation for the university.
“In my office, I proudly have a Fordham banner hanging behind my desk, I wear a Fordham shirt every day, I use a Fordham schoolbag… I firmly believe that I would not be in the position I am in today without the time I spent at Fordham,” Beale said.
