1861 Giving Challenges Raises More than $300K for SUNY Oswego
A green front swept across the country for 1861 minutes on Sept. 30 through Oct. 1 and resulted in $303,925.41 being raised for SUNY Oswego.
A total of 1,543 donors made gifts during the 1861 Giving Challenge, held in conjunction with Founder’s Weekend, and as they did, they turned their home state from white to green on a map tracking our progress.
Laker family members, including 341 people who made their first-ever gift to the college, nearly doubled the original goal of 861 donors, helping to secure the $50,000 challenge gift of Al Roker ’76.
Additionally, former Laker wrestler Shane Facteau ’95 issued a challenge within the challenge to supporters of Laker wrestling. He would match dollar-for-dollar any gift made to the wrestling program up to $25,000. A total of $50,081 was raised for the wrestling program during the challenge.
SUNY Oswego’s Title IX Coordinator Lisa Evaneski posted on Facebook to encourage Lakers to participate in the challenge and support the It’s On Oz fund, managed by the Oswego College Foundation and used to support victims/survivors after an incident. Chalet Dewey-Flint ’93, a clinical social worker at Peace of Mind Counseling Services in Fulton, N.Y., saw Evaneski’s post, made a gift and shared the post with her friends.
Lisa Sferrazza Hutchison ’77 shared a post about the challenge to the Class of 1977 – 45th Reunion Facebook group and encouraged her classmates to participate. Several did and also shared with their friends.
Oswego College Foundation board member Jennifer Shropshire ’86 also called on her Laker friends to participate, posting to Facebook:
“Just made my gift to be part of the match from Al Roker. Thanks Al, for getting us in the Laker spirit for this Founders Weekend! If you haven’t made your gift already, there’s still time to be part of the Green Front that’s sweeping the country. #Oz1861”
“That’s exactly what we hoped our Laker community would do,” said Barbie Fike, senior associate director of the Annual Fund and coordinator of the giving challenge. “They rallied together to exceed the challenge issued by the ever-supportive Al Roker, and we couldn’t be happier with the results. Together, we raised more than $300,000 to support SUNY Oswego programs and most importantly, students. Thank you to all who participated!”
This was the college’s most successful giving challenge to date, involving more donors and raising more money than any challenge before.
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