Campus & Community

Thank You for Boosting the ’Cuse

Thursday, October 14, 2021, By John Boccacino

person taking photo of another personThe 鶹ƵUniversity community rallied to support academic excellence during Boost the ’Cuse, 鶹ƵUniversity’s fifth annual day of giving.

The preliminary #BoostCuse results are in: on Oct. 7, during a 24-hour span, 5,109 donors gave $1,286,344.55 toward supporting 鶹ƵUniversity students.

Thanks to your generosity, our giving day surpassed our goal of 5,000 unique donors as our Orange community gave back to the causes they care about the most.

Gifts came in from 49 states and 12 countries around the world as alumni, students, faculty and staff demonstrated that when you #BoostCuse, you boost the student experience, the transformative research occurring on campus, the impact of a 鶹Ƶdegree and the futures of current students.

The response to Boost the ’Cuse was terrific, with alumni sharing the following sentiments after viewing a thank you video from students expressing their gratitude for every gift made:

  • “Seeing the students’ express gratitude for the gift put a smile on my face and made the gift worth it!”
  • “It was our pleasure to give back! We love 鶹ƵUniversity! Forever Orange!”
  • “Well, that was just wonderful… it brought tears to my eyes!”
  • “Thank you for the awesome video. It was my pleasure to Boost the ’Cuse!”

There were giving day challenges throughout the day. When giving eclipsed 2,022 donors, Board of Trustees Chairwoman Kathy Walters ’73 made a generous $25,000 gift to 鶹ƵUniversity in honor of the resilient Class of 2022.

Thanks to Hendricks Chapel, $5,000 will be awarded to the 10 student organizations that received the most mentions on the #BoostCuse giving form. Those winning student organizations are:

  • Athletics Bands (鶹ƵUniversity Marching Band and the Sour Sitrus Society)
  • Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
  • Hillel
  • OrangeSeeds
  • CitrusTV
  • DanceWorks
  • WeMedia Lab
  • Student Association
  • First Year Players
  • University Union

Donors could choose from a variety of funds, including those specific to a school, college, athletics or affinity program, those providing assistance to diverse populations, and our general scholarship fund that supports a broad range of student needs. Whether $1 or $10,000, every gift mattered.

Current students and young alumni dominated the graduation year leaderboard. Donors from the classes of 2022, 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2021 held the top five spots for most gifts made, while a member of the Class of 2022 was our top Boost the ’Cuse influencer on social media.

The funds that garnered the highest number of donors were the Annual Fund, the General Supported Scholarship Fund, the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications’ Dean’s Fund, the College of Law Annual Fund, and the Martin J. Whitman School of Management’s Dean’s Fund.

Together, the 鶹ƵUniversity community celebrated what it means to be Orange by supporting our giving day efforts. It’s not too late to !