Giving Tuesday

BGSU students will benefit from the generosity of Giving Tuesday supporters — a national day of philanthropy following Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The day is a way to remember the spirit of the holiday season by donating to a favorite charity or organization. 164 donors showed their Falcon pride and gave $31,346.97 within 24 hours. This was BGSU’s first year participating in the annual nationwide event.

“Giving Tuesday was a new initiative for us that we saw as an opportunity to not only promote financial support of BGSU, but also to engage with our alumni and friends,” said Rebecca Kocher, assistant vice president of alumni and annual giving.

Donors could make a gift to any fund, specific department, program or team that was meaningful to them. BGSU employees and organizations also took part in the effort.

“It was particularly exciting to see our Young Alumni Board step up and issue a dollar-for-dollar match of $3,000 that was met by our alumni and friends by midmorning,” Kocher said.

19 of the 157 donors made their first gift to the University, including Ray Gibson, Jr. who holds three degrees from BGSU. He and his wife are Falcon Flames.

“I gave back to BGSU because the University is a huge part of my story. The fabric of my life is interwoven with orange and brown, Freddie and Frieda, and Ay Ziggy Zoomba,” Gibson said. “I am where I am today because of the opportunities received at BGSU and I want to help make sure that others in need have access to the same opportunities for success that I had.”

Throughout the day, alumni shared their pride and participated in Giving Tuesday by posting “Unselfies” of them with the hashtags #FalconsGive and #GivingTuesday for a chance to win prizes. BGSU Alumni received 637 likes, comments, re-tweets and posts! Check them out on our Facebook page.

Some alumni also sent Tweets to @FalconAlumni to express why they gave.

Mike Karikari tweeted, “I give to @bgsu because of how much it gave to me! Once a Falcon, ALWAYS a Falcon! #FalconsGive #GivingTuesday #RollAlong @FalconAlumni”

Terry S. tweeted, “I give to @bgsu because it gave so much to me. A new home, new friends, new experiences & more. #GivingTuesday.”

“Our offices were busy with calls, emails and social media updates from alumni and friends who were eager to be a part of the excitement,” said Kocher.

Kocher expects that final number to increase as checks arrive over the next few days.

Every gift, no matter what size, makes an impact on current and future Falcons. Visit our website for more information.