Day of Giving Supporters Donate Record Number of Gifts to College of Natural Resources

NC State’s fifth Day of Giving united alumni, friends, faculty, staff, parents and students on Wednesday, March 22 to raise more than $1 million for the College of Natural Resources over a 24-hour period, breaking records from previous years. 

At the end of the day, the college received 934 gifts, the most number of gifts it has ever received, for a preliminary total of $1,043,104. These funds, which surpass the total of $251,592 raised last year, will support student scholarships, faculty research, facility improvements and much more. 

“We are truly grateful to everyone who gave to the College of Natural Resources on Day of Giving. Your passion and support continue to inspire us,” said Jennifer Piercy, assistant dean for college advancement and president of the NC State Natural Resources Foundation. “We aspire to build a world in which everyone is welcomed and empowered to explore, protect and enjoy the full diversity of our environment and our communities, while ensuring justice and sustainability for all. Every single dollar raised this year will be crucial in helping us achieve this.” 

Thanks to donor support from this year’s event, the college won an additional $3,415 by finishing in second place on the “Power Your Pack Leaderboard,” which awarded a share of $20,000 to colleges and units based on their percentage increase in the number of gifts from their previous highest total. 

Donor support also allowed the college to meet several of its gift-match challenges, securing nearly $10,000 in additional funding. When the Slocum Camp Hill Forest Enhancement Fund received 150 gifts, for example, alumnus K.O. Summerville donated an additional $3,000 to the fund to support improvements to the camp’s cabins and other facilities. 

Additionally, when the Medwick Byrd Family Endowment received 50 gifts, an anonymous alum donated $5,000 to the fund, which provides need-based scholarships for undergraduate students pursuing a degree in paper science and engineering. And when the CNR Enhancement Fund received 200 gifts, alumnus Lynn Davidson donated an additional $2,500 to the fund. 

The college also won an additional $4,000 thanks to supporters participating in social media challenges. During the week leading up to Day of Giving, the college won the “Video Share Challenge” on both Facebook and LinkedIn. Then, on the day of the event, the college won the “Most Gifts From 5-6 a.m. Challenge.” 

Meg Gaito, a 2015 alumnus who currently serves as the development associate at the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina, helped the college win one of the two awards available through the “Wolfpack Throwback Challenge” by tweeting a photo of herself and her father in NC State gear. The challenge secured an additional $1,000. 

In the “Student Organization Challenge,” the TAPPI Student Chapter finished in first place, raising $9,794 for the Paper International Experience — a 10-day, biennial trip for juniors and seniors studying paper science and engineering. Meanwhile, the Forestry Club finished in third place, raising $2,845 for the Slocum Camp Hill Forest Enhancement Fund. 

Since its inception in 2019, NC State’s Day of Giving has raised more than $3 million for the college. To see more details about the results and the breakdown of individual funds, visit the Day of Giving website.