Lakehead University officials have been blown away by the more than $216,000 donated to student financial aid on Giving Tuesday (Nov.30), thanks to donations from alumni, friends of the university, faculty, staff, and other donors.
Lakehead’s goal was $52,500, which was the reason Dr. Moira McPherson, President and Vice-Chancellor, was impressed by the exceptional amount they raised.
“We were absolutely blown away by the generosity of our alumni, staff, faculty, and friends,” Dr. McPherson said.
She attributed this success to the University’s use of email and social media, as well as a university-wide approach to this special day of giving.
“Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would exceed our goal by 400 per cent. The impact of this generosity on our students will be tremendous.”
Several major donors jumped at the chance to increase their existing awards, or establish new ones, due to a matching-gift incentive. In the weeks leading up to the event, alumni and friends were encouraged to participate on social media.
“Lakehead’s internal community responded very positively, as did the Alumni Board and the Board of Governors. In fact, the participation rate for both boards was at an all-time high in 2021,” Dr. McPherson added.
The majority of Lakehead’s donors were from Canada, primarily Ontario. But Lakehead also received several international gifts, from as far away as Finland and China.
Lakehead once again held a competition between alumni from different decades, with 80s graduates outpacing all other decades.
Due to the tremendous turnout from Lakehead donors, eight new awards were created at the University, and contributions were made to dozens of endowed funds.
“Thank you to all of our donors for supporting Lakehead students,” Dr. McPherson said.
This brings the total to more than $540,000 that Lakehead has received on Giving Tuesday since the University first started participating in 2016.
From near and far, our alumni & friends unleashed generosity! pic.twitter.com/JZaAxjlcgk
— Lakehead University Orillia (@LakeheadOrillia) December 3, 2021