Eastern Kentucky University’s second annual Giving Day will occur on April 14, with the goal this year of 1,000 individual donors.
This year’s theme is One Day. One Goal. One Eastern. EKU has set a goal of 1,000 donors on April 14 and has a philosophy that every donation and every dollar matters to students who will use them for a transformative EKU experience to better themselves and their communities.
“Whether a student comes to us as a first-generation student or from a long line of graduates, I want them to have a life-changing experience here at EKU,” said Eastern President Dr. David McFaddin. “I hope you’ll join us on April 14, 2021, as we set our sights on making sure everyone who wants a transformative EKU experience, regardless of their socioeconomic status, has that opportunity. Through giving, we can give more scholarships and more educational opportunities to the upcoming generations.”
In 2019, Eastern Kentucky University’s goal during the first Giving Day of 424 donors was shattered by more than 300 donations, with 748 generous donors giving to the University in various forms.
“It was the success of the 2019 EKU Giving Day that pushed us to the goal of 1,000 donors. The more donors we get, the more students we can help,” said Betina Gardner, vice president for university development and alumni engagement. “We are not the kind of University that gets a tremendous number of multi-million dollar gifts. Most of our gifts are in the dozens of dollars instead of thousands of dollars. That’s why everyone needs to participate in any way they can. Every dollar will make a difference to a student, who in turn will impact other lives.”
The annual support of EKU donors helps to fund scholarships that help make education more affordable. It helps in other ways including stocking the Colonel’s Cupboard to alleviate food insecurity on campus and provide funding to the colleges for professional development, study abroad, and research opportunities.
Gifts help fund equipment for EKU Athletics programs, supports shows for local schools at the EKU Center for the Arts, helps alleviate student emergencies through the Student Assistance Fund for Eastern (S.A.F.E.), and purchase important student resources for EKU Libraries, and so much more.
EKU invites the community to participate by making a gift at go.eku.edu/givingday on April 14. Throughout the day, go.eku.edu/givingday will feature challenge gifts as EKU reaches certain levels of donors and leaderboards displaying the most popular funds in real-time. Follow @EKUAlums on Twitter and EKU Alumni & Friends on Facebook, to get access to contests and updates throughout the day.