By Sean Mickey, Sports Assignment Editor
St. Bonaventure University’s one-day giving blitz, #BonaGivingDay, received its most individual donors since its record-breaking 2018 challenge.
The fifth #BonaGivingDay, held on Jan. 30, garnered $280,954. The amount raised has fallen from a high of $387,000 set in 2018, but university officials aren’t discouraged.
Bob Van Wicklin, vice president for advancement, said he is happy with this year’s results as donor participation is their main focus.
“It’s an important time for us to cultivate and reach out to our donor base and emphasize the importance to the university to raise unrestricted funds for The Bonaventure Fund,” Van Wicklin said.
This year’s donation blitz received the third-most individual donations in its five-year history. 796 donors contributed to this year’s efforts, compared to 691 in 2019 and 947 in 2018.
Every dollar raised is counted towards the university’s seven-year, $100 million dollar campaign and counts towards the campaign’s goal, according to Van Wicklin.
Van Wicklin attributed the drop in funds raised over the last two years in part to the capital campaign, as larger donors have given pledges toward projects associated with the campaign.
Months of preparation from several departments at Bonaventure goes into planning the 24-hour giving challenge, from donor identification and the use of social media.
Preparation for next year will start soon with a discussion about how this year’s giving day went as well as potential ideas for next year, according to Van Wicklin.
mickeys17@bonaventure.edu
