Second Annual Mount Union Day of Giving Totals More Than $260,000
April 05, 2019ALLIANCE, Ohio – The University of Mount Union’s second annual day of giving, titled “Raiders Give,” reached new heights from the previous year thanks to the incredible generosity of the Mount Union community.
In total, the April 4 event raised $260,680 for The Mount Union Fund, which was an increase of more than $58,000 from the inaugural event in 2018. A total of 885 donors gave gifts to the fund, which supports student scholarships, technology and other critical student needs across Mount Union’s campus.
Donors had the opportunity to give for 24 hours beginning at midnight on April 4. The Trustee Challenge was the primary goal of the day, which was to reach 750 donors. The challenge was reached with more than five hours to spare in the day, resulting in an extra $100,000 donation from members of the Board of Trustees. Those on the board who donated for the Trustee Challenge were Lynne and Dennis Biery, Flint ’77 and Meg (Gerlach ’78) Brenton, Dr. Brad ’84 and Stephanie Carman, Jim ’84 and Denise Costanzo, Matt ’84 and Patricia Darrah, Dr. Rick ’72 and Cheryl (Brown ’72) Drake, Jim ’98 and Brittany Eismon, Sean ’97 and Deanne Moore, Mike ’83 and Karen Parnell, and Joel ’78 and Kathy (Johnson ’79) Sassa. The Costanzos donated an extra $10,000 when the donor total reached 800.
Of the 507 alumni who donated, the graduating class of 2018 led the way with 40 donors and 65 graduating classes were represented dating back to the class of 1951.
There were five affinity challenges throughout the day that assisted in increasing the total amount. The Young Alumni Challenge had a goal of 150 donors from the classes of 2009-2018, which resulted in an extra $2,500 donation from Kate (Fortney ’09) Horne and Megan (Fortney ’11) Smith when the challenge was met. The total of young alumni donating reached 171 by day’s end.
The Student Challenge was met when 50 current students donated, leading to a $5,000 gift from Nick Russo ’06. The total number of current students that donated reached 137. Mount Union President Dick Merriman and his wife, Dr. Margot Kelman, donated an additional $5,000 when the goal of 155 faculty and staff contributors was met, unlocking the Faculty and Staff Challenge. Overall, 160 faculty and staff members contributed.
The Class of 1969 challenged its members to donate, and when more than 15 did, — 28 in total — Nancy Ashcom ’69 and an anonymous donor contributed an additional $3,500. The final challenge was the Parent and Family Challenge, which was unlocked when 55 gifts were received, which meant that Carmans would contribute an additional $2,500. By midnight, 78 parent gifts had been received as part of the effort.
The 50 State Challenge was nearly met, as 46 states were represented in giving a gift, which resulted in Lavery Automotive giving $100 for each state for a total of $4,600 for the fund.
To view additional results, visit raidersgive.mountunion.edu, or make a gift to The Mount Union Fund, visit alumni.mountunion.edu/giving.