{"id":62701,"date":"2021-05-05T09:08:20","date_gmt":"2021-05-05T16:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=62701"},"modified":"2021-05-05T09:08:20","modified_gmt":"2021-05-05T16:08:20","slug":"naus-third-giving-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/naus-third-giving-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Hip, hip, hooray! Lumberjacks from throughout the world unite for NAU\u2019s third Giving Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

By 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 14, Northern Arizona University\u2019s third annual Giving Day was well underway. At that time, $371,857 had been raised, and several challenges had been unlocked or nearly unlocked. Tantalizingly close to being unlocked was the DeMund Foundation\u2019s challenge that would support first-generation students and programs\u2014just a few more gifts would release a whopping $30,000 donation and mean more students served. When an email encouraging donations in the final hours was sent to the Lumberjack community, an NAU employee and alumna saw it as the perfect opportunity to give\u2014her donation was the 60th<\/sup> to a first-generation fund, unlocking that $30,000 donation and exponentially increasing the power of all the donations that went into it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe DeMund Foundation has a long history of providing scholarships to Arizona universities,\u201d said Stephen F. Clarke, president of The DeMund Foundation.\u00a0\u201cWe are very excited to support First Scholars at NAU and help create a campus of excellence through first-generation programs. Our commitment is to improve student outcomes and to have a meaningful impact on the lives of these trail-blazing students as they forge new paths for themselves and their families. We are humbled that our gift inspired others to do the same during NAU Giving Day, maximizing the impact for first-generation students.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Giving_Day_Numbers\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The first-generation funds that benefitted from this and other challenges were among the nearly 470 funds that received donations throughout the 24-hour giving period. In total, 1,400 gifts from Lumberjacks throughout the world brought in almost $500,000, including the 37 matches and challenges that raised more than $240,000. This year, gifts were 20 percent higher, with dollars donated up more than 70 percent from NAU\u2019s first Giving Day just two years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe support for NAU and the involvement of the community in Flagstaff and throughout the world speaks to the connection Lumberjacks have to our university,\u201d President Rita Cheng<\/strong> said. \u201cThis year\u2019s efforts show the hope we have for a bright future, and I am grateful for the Lumberjacks throughout the world and their generous gifts that will help our current and future students be the leaders we need in our global society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another fund to receive notable support was Louie\u2019s Cupboard, NAU\u2019s on-campus food pantry, which supports Lumberjacks and northern Arizona community members who are experiencing food insecurity. Fifty-one donors, including NAU president-designate Jos\u00e9 Luis Cruz,<\/strong> contributed a total of $6,300 to the cupboard. After the 50th<\/sup> donation, the Student Giving Challenge\u2014created by President Cheng; Erin Grisham,<\/strong> vice president of Student Affairs; and the Student Philanthropy Council, a student-run club<\/a>\u00a0that works to build a culture of philanthropy and volunteerism on campus\u2014was unlocked, releasing another $6,500 to help ensure the pantry remains stocked for anyone in need.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiving Day is truly a team effort, and our success is because of everyone,\u201d said Megan Gray<\/strong>, assistant director of digital fundraising, speaking not only to the donors, but the more than 100 student, faculty, staff and community volunteers who helped make this year\u2019s day of giving such a success. \u201cGiving Day is an opportunity for the community to unite and support our students. There is no corner of the university that does not benefit from the generosity of Lumberjack donors\u2014scholarships, student clubs, research, etc. Giving Day shows the impact one gift can have, no matter the amount, and when we unite, we can really make a difference together.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to volunteers from the Student Philanthropy Council (who delivered Jacks Packs and held promotional signs), ASNAU (who hosted a booth at the union to share Giving Day with students, encouraging 112 student gifts\u2014a 128 percent increase\u00a0from 2019), the NAU Alumni Association Board and campus partners, The Lumberjack Engagement Center sent 1,150 personalized thank-you videos to donors.<\/p>\n

Gray said the money raised and collaboration seen across campus far exceeded her expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so inspiring to see our community come together for a collective\u00a0Axe of Kindness, and it\u2019s especially inspiring knowing there is a lasting impact beyond one day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visit the NAU Advancement | Foundation website<\/a> to make a gift anytime.<\/p>\n

\"Northern<\/a>Carly Banks | NAU Communications
\n(928) 523-5582 | carly.banks@nau.edu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 14, Northern Arizona University\u2019s third annual Giving Day was well underway. At that time, $371,857 had been raised, and several challenges had been unlocked or nearly unlocked. Tantalizingly close to being unlocked was the DeMund Foundation\u2019s challenge that would support first-generation students and programs\u2014just a few more gifts would…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":62702,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}