Spotlight
‘Cyclone Strong’ online campaign raises thousands for students, campus By Kiley Wellendorf Gannett
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he Iowa State Cyclone community is giving back to students who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting the university’s newest fundraising campaign, “Cyclone Strong.” Cyclone Strong first launched by the Iowa State University Foundation on March 19, after the foundation learned of students’ financial needs on campus, according to Mary Evanson, Assistant Vice President of Development at ISU Foundation. “The ISU Foundation’s mission always is to support the advancement of Iowa State University, so we do that by aligning donor passion and generosity with the needs of the University,” Evanson said. “When we learned that there were some financial needs and some impact related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ISU Foundation mobilized — like we often do — and started to gather information from our partners to learn about how we can help, what the needs are, and how private funding could potentially make a difference.” The foundation began gathering information about the impact around early March as students began returning from study abroad experiences, Evanson said. “Even in those really early conversations, it was apparent that the impact was going to be significant, and that students were going to need assistance, so taking all of that information into account and consideration, we launched the Cyclone Strong crowdfunding campaign on March 19,” Evanson said. Although Cyclone Strong is meant to help address the needs of the university created from the pandemic, the online campaign is primarily focused on student needs, according to Evanson. “We established the fund really as a fairly unrestricted fund that could help with emergency needs,” Evanson said. “Really, COVID-19 was the catalyst for this, but this fund could live on and likely will live on to address additional emergency needs as they emerge on campus.” “The needs are significant and they’re really evolving.” The fund was also launched without a goal, knowing that “whatever was donated would be put to immediate use to help students.” “This isn’t a new concept, but the conditions under which it was established are certainly very new to us,” Evanson said. “None of us have experienced anything like this before, so in a lot of ways, this is new.” More recently, Cyclone Strong has caught the interest of those at the university, sparking ISU Book Store to create an official “Cyclone Strong” t-shirt for $15 dollars, where all proceeds will be donated to the Cyclone Strong fund. Some of those needs highlighted on the Campus Store website
THE IOWA STATE CYCLONE COMMUNITY IS GIVING BACK TO STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN FINANCIALLY IMPACTED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC BY SUPPORTING THE UNIVERSITY’S NEWEST FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN, “CYCLONE STRONG.” GANNETT FILE PHOTO
include assisting university citizens who were studying abroad and faced unexpected expenses due to returning home because of the pandemic, and also providing grant emergency aid for students to help with paying bills and buying groceries. “During this time, we send each of you the very best Cyclone wishes from the heart of campus,” ISU Book Store wrote online at the “Cyclone Strong” t-shirt page. “And we ask that, even as we all practice social distancing, we come together online to show our support.” Evanson said Cyclone Fanatics have also designed a “Cyclones Helping Cyclones” T-shirt where proceeds will be donated to the Cyclone Strong fund. Outside of apparel sales, the Board of Directors for the ISU Foundation recently issued a challenge to match $20,000 dollars in donations, Evanson said. “Gestures like these are so kind and appreciated,” Evanson said. “It’s a bright light in a gloomy situation. By the end of April, more than 230 donors have contributed to the campaign, raising over $53,000 dollars, according to Evanson. “The response has been overwhelmingly positive, as is often the case with Iowa State alumni and friends — they’re incredibly generous,” Evanson said. “They’ve responded by providing positive words of encouragement to our students and helping spread the message on social media.” More information on the online campaign can be found on the ISU Foundation’s website at: https://fundisu.foundation. iastate.edu/project/20443.
FACETS | JUNE 2020 | 11
