March 2017

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 9, 2017— Santa Clara University raised nearly $2.3 million for more than two dozen different schools, programs, or centers in its fourth annual Day of Giving challenge, March 8.

The day, dubbed “All In for SCU,” set a record for the most gifts ever in a single day: 5,324, some 17 percent more than last year’s record of 4,560 donors. The total proceeds were spurred by more than $500,000 in challenge dollars that were up for grabs from supportive donors.

Many units on campus also set their own records for one-day giving totals. Passionate donors helped Bronco athletics raise $621,389; the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics  raised a one-day record $274,914 from 127 donors, followed by the Santa Clara Fund with $206,850 and the Leavey School of Business, which raised $126,520 from 281 donors.

The Jesuit School of Theology garnered $103,900 from 28 donors, and donations to the Fr. Coz Scholarship, Campus Ministry, Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, University Library, Education and Counseling Psychology, and the Northern California Innocence Project also came in strong, beating last year.

"Once again, our tremendous Bronco community has shown its desire to dig deep and give back, to make sure that future students have full access to the transformative opportunities that abound at SCU,” said James Lyons, vice president for University Relations. “The nonstop energy and enthusiasm we saw during this year's 24-hour Day of Giving was infectious and drove amazing results."

As in past years, there was a healthy competition throughout the day among those loyal to the dozens of programs being supported. Among athletics, women’s and men’s water polo, track and field, and women’s and men’s rowing were neck and neck all day for bragging rights for most gifts. Alumnus Dan Caputo ‘67 had donated $5,000 for the sports teams with the first, second, and third highest number of donors.

All In for SCU also featured matching donations to help favored units reach their goals. Results, which can be found at https://givingday.scu.edu, were striking.

Although All In for SCU is a one-day affair, it required extensive planning by a staff of more than 50 who worked for weeks to pull it off.

The effort was also supported by a nonstop social media campaign on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, which alerted supporters from every corner of campus—and beyond—about the event in the days leading up to Day of Giving. More than 200 predesignated Bronco “ambassadors” raised over $174,000 by using their own social media networks to encourage giving.

About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering; master’s degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry, and theology; and law degrees and engineering doctoral degrees. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.

Media Contact
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Relations | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121