UMass Dartmouth raises money for college's advancement

Apr 5, 2018

Inspired by the need to raise money for campus development, participants of the Corsair Challenge at UMass Dartmouth on April 3 and 4 surpassed a fundraising goal of 500 donors.

Over a two day, 1,895 minute event, more than $120,000 was raised by 1,200 people. This is the first year the school has held the challenge, named after the university’s mascot. The to-the-minute schedule paid homage to the university’s 1895 founding year.

Students, parents, faculty, and alumni were encouraged to donate whatever they could afford to give to a specific cause of their choosing – from certain schools of study to on-campus organizations.

Director of Annual Giving Ann-Marie Reddy noted alumni participation was key, as it helps the university’s overall ranking in U.S. World News Report. Right now, only two to three percent of alumni donate, but Reddy hopes to boost it to seven percent in the coming years.

The state only funds 25 percent of the university’s budget, with the remainder coming from what students pay and fundraising events.

“If we’re going to keep costs down and provide a private college experience at a state college price then we have to work harder and smarter, so that’s why we’re going out in this big effort,” Reddy said.

Student Ivy Salley used a microphone to engage crowds of students in the campus center to donate and join in on giveaways. On the first day, 300 t-shirts were given out. There was also a wheel people could spin to win different prizes like sunglasses and phone wallets.

Salley was amazed by the amount of people who joined in, especially students.

“It feels amazing because for students you don’t think they’re going to give back because they’re in school, they’re stressing about loans and stuff,” Salley said. “The fact that they’re actually donating is wonderful because they’re helping themselves and future students.”