Dickinson marked its first ever “Day of Giving” on April 21, where the school raised $449,945 in total.  Katie Lasswell ’17, a member of the Devils’ Advocates Student Philanthropy Council, said that this event “took inspiration from other schools.  It represented 24 hours of the Dickinson community, from the newest students to the oldest alumni, coming together to support the campus.”  The event was planned both by College Advancement and by the Devils’ Advocates.

When the day was planned, Lasswell said that “the goal was to reach 650 donations in a day.”  To their surprise, however, “we reached that goal before 9 a.m., within the first two hours after the event began,” Lasswell stated.  After surpassing their original goal by noon, council members made a new goal.  According to Lasswell, “We made a new aim of 1,300 donors, but we also hit that.  Ultimately we got 2,017 gifts throughout that entire day.”

After the unexpected success, the next day the college hosted “A Day to Thank.”  As Lasswell said, “We had students fill out thank you cards to donors, but we only had 1,000 cards.  We didn’t even have enough cards to thank people because we had such a successful day.”  She continued, “The event completely exceeded all of our expectations.”

For Lasswell, the importance of the Day of Giving was also personal: “Because I have a scholarship, which are funded in part by the Dickinson Fund, I can say that donations affect every part of Dickinson.”  She added, “The money does not just go to the college, but to specific places of the donors’ choice.”  Among other possibilities are donating to scholarship funds, the library, the Trout Gallery, facilities, departments and other such options.  As Lasswell noted, “Giving back will help me, and others with scholarships, be able to keep those in the future.”

Besides the personal connection, Lasswell also brought up the importance for other students to consider donating to the college.  She said, “The whole Dickinson community was involved in this event, not just students.  Even though some students criticized us because they already pay tuition, by donating you are not just giving to the institution.”  She continues, “You are giving to what affects the Dickinson experience and to what matters most to you, from clubs to sports.  It is a great way to show you enjoy and care about what you’re getting here.”

in terms of preserving the legacy of the graduating class and of Dickinson as a whole.

“The larger the percentage of alumni participation, the bigger the grants the school will receive. Donating to Dickinson also enhances our degrees, because it gives the school more prestige,” she said. “That’s why we don’t necessarily stress an amount, we just stress that people participate.”

With this in mind, the campaign set a goal of 65 percent participation from the Class of 2013. Though only 27 percent of seniors participated by the end of March, the campaign saw a spike in donations during the last senior club on Thursday, May 2. Currently, the campaign has raised $3,667 with participation from 36 percent of seniors.