FOUNDATION NEWS
Bobcat Giving Day Rings Up a Second Year of Success and Friendly Competition
BY TY DEMARTINO ’90
Twenty-four hours isn’t a lot of time. But it was enough for Frostburg State University alumni, friends and supporters to break fundraising goals with the second annual Bobcat Giving Day.
This year’s organizers set a goal of engaging 1,250 donors (in honor of FSU’s 125th Anniversary in 2023). They surpassed that by 169 percent with a final total of 2,122 donors. And for overall funds raised, the 24-hour tally rang in at an impressive $167,969 (nearly $23,000 more than last year’s total).
“The challenge of running a campaign for only 24 hours is that anything can happen in that one day,” said Stephanie Loar, FSU Annual Giving specialist and the lead organizer of Bobcat Giving Day. “You can’t predict what will occur in the short timeframe.”
Members of the Men's Lacrosse Team play games at Bobcat Giving Day headquarters in the Lane University Center.
There were plenty of twists and surprises at every turn, especially in the race for the spot of “top fund.” Each year, a competition exists to see who can raise the most donors (not dollars) among the FSU funds. The winner at the end of the 24 hours earns an additional $10,000 generously donated by the FSU Foundation Board of Directors. This year, the board upped the ante and offered a $5,000 prize for the fund coming in second place.
The day’s competition started calmly on March 1, with the Children’s Literature Centre (last year’s winner of the $10,000 prize) swapping the top position with Men’s Lacrosse. As fund advocates took to social media, email and texting to make personal pledge pleas, everyone watched the online leaderboard. As night fell on Wednesday night of Giving Day, CLC and Lacrosse seemed to be in a race for first place. CUT TO: Thursday morning around 10 a.m. Out of nowhere, FSU Swimming dove in and splashed ahead of the competition, pulling past the Lit-Kids and Lax-Sticks. In the remaining two hours of the campaign, it was a race to the finish as Swimming ended with a total of 335 donors and Men’s Lacrosse received second prize with 325. Third place CLC closed its books with 230 donors.
Nobody was more glued to the minute-by-minute action than Loar and her team in FSU’s University Advancement.
“Everyone’s adrenaline was rushing. We had so much excitement, not only our office, but all over campus. And the social media presence was incredible,” Loar said. “We had no idea who was going to win. It was a tight race down to the final minutes.”
But even with the good-natured competition, the true winners of Bobcat Giving Day continue to be FSU students. According to Loar, seeing the students benefit from the funds raised is the most rewarding part of the hectic 24 hours.
“The gifts make such a difference for our students,” she said. “Watching students, faculty, staff, alums and the community come together in support of FSU is truly amazing.”
As organizers now send out thank you notes and distribute the highly coveted, limited-edition Bobcat Giving Day socks (available to those who made gifts of $60 or more), the team is already gearing up for next year’s Giving Day slated for March 6, 2024. But Loar remains tight-lipped on the details, not to tip off the competitors.
“We definitely plan to add some new surprises and fun,” she teased.
The FSU University Team behind Bobcat Giving Day says thanks.
For information on Bobcat Giving Day, visit online at frostburg.edu/givingday.
