Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) hosted its annual day of giving, Woods Giving Day, on Tuesday, February 6. Collectively, 1,090 donors raised $427,653, with $399,738 raised in support of the Woods Fund, the College’s annual unrestricted fund that supports the operating budget, and $27,915 raised for other funds at the College. With the goal of 1,000 donors, the day set a new record for the day of giving. The Office of Advancement at SMWC was very pleased with the results. “There are no words to describe how blessed and excited we are to have exceeded our donor goal! I’m grateful to everyone who participated in Woods Giving Day by giving back to SMWC students,” said Jessica Bicknell Crawford ’19G, advancement officer.
Over 10 challenges initiated by alumni and community partners played a significant part in the success of Woods Giving Day. One challenge encouraged all alumni and friends to make their gifts early this year. If the College reached 500 donors before Woods Giving Day, two SMWC Trustees, Mary Kay Campbell Watson ‘69 and Al Watson, committed to donating $40,000 to SMWC. By the end of business on February 5, the College had received donations from 515 unique donors, meeting the challenge. “We know that it can be challenging to make a gift within a one-day period. We thought that if we opened the giving period and added a challenge, it would help ignite the energy for Woods Giving Day, and it did,” Crawford said.
Additionally, several challenges were made and met for alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends. These challenges helped inspire and encourage other donors to give back to SMWC.
Another success of Wood Giving Day was the eight community partners that supported the day. SMWC partnered with Azzip Pizza, Bright Ideas, Chick-fil-A, Culver’s, ISU Credit Union, Little Bear Coffee Co., Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce and The Cottage.
Polet Horton, a senior nursing major at SMWC, shared, “It’s a very important day for students like myself. I’m a first-generation college student, so it really helps students to afford to come to college, and it’s a really special day for Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in just supporting students to have their own legacy at The Woods.”
Gathered in the Woods Student Center in the Rooney Center, Board of Trustee members, alumni, students, faculty and staff worked the phones from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., calling alumni and friends. Despite having nearly 100 volunteers, the College was unable to call every individual on the list. Crawford added, “We’re so thankful to be able to connect with alumni and friends, but there simply isn’t enough time in one day to reach out to every person in our database. That is why we encourage individuals who want to give on Woods Giving Day to do so online. We don’t want people waiting to hear from the College on this critical fundraising day! We are thrilled with the outcome of this year’s Woods Giving Day and appreciate the continued support of SMWC.”
For anyone who missed their chance to make their gift on Woods Giving Day, gifts can still be made to the Woods Fund at giving.smwc.edu.
