THANK YOU! Day of Giving breaks College records

RAISED DONORS

More than 2,500 people contributed more than half a million dollars to support the North Central Fund, scholarships, athletic teams, and more.

“It was an amazing day. I was glued to my computer for 16 hours, barely stepping away from the monitor all day and into the night. What a great day to be a Cardinal!” That was Jared Bogan M ’10, major gifts officer, speaking about the College’s seventh annual Day of Giving, the most successful ever. “I can’t thank everyone enough,” he said. “So many alumni, faculty and staff, students and parents and friends came through to support our students and the College. The North Central family is amazing.” The final numbers are still being tallied, but donors have already exceeded the College’s goals. “On days like this it’s so clear that every dollar really does count,” said Bogan. “Lots of our gifts were for $5 or $10, and the average gift was around $200. It all adds up.” North Central’s Day of Giving has come a long way since it debuted in 2016. Back then, staff didn’t set a dollar goal, because the College had never done anything like this before. “We just wanted people to participate,” Bogan recalled. “We aimed for 861 donors—the theme ‘Be 1 of 861’ played off the 1861 founding of the College—and we crossed our fingers.” Donors came though, with 894 people contributing more than $94,000.

The Day of Giving Committee would like to thank everyone who participated in this amazing event. Please direct any questions to committee members Jared Bogan M ’10, major gifts officer (jbogan@noctrl.edu); Dana O’Donoghue, associate director of development for parent and leadership annual giving (dodonoghue@noctrl.edu); and Connor Bangs ’19, assistant director of alumni and parent engagement (cmbangs@noctrl.edu).

A few highlights from the 2022 Day of Giving:

Rev. Dr. Howard Mueller ’58 Alumni Board Student Involvement Scholarship North Central Fund

Together, more than 85 donors raised about $10,000 for the Rev. Dr. Howard Mueller ’58 Alumni Board Student Involvement Scholarship, awarded to students exhibiting leadership abilities through involvement with the campus community. Thanks to the generosity of these donors, the scholarship fund is $10,000 closer to the $150,000 required to endow it and ensure that it will support students for generations to come.

Writing Center

North Central’s Writing Center raised $745. Much of this success stemmed from the efforts of Jennifer Jackson, Svend and Elizabeth Bramsen Professor in the Humanities, who posted a giving link to her personal Facebook page and invited former Writing Center workers to donate just $5. An alum created the hashtag #AnythingforDrJackson, which saw tremendous engagement. “It was thrilling to see the numbers rise as the day went on—all a testament to the good will of Writing Center alumni,” said Jackson.

North Central Fund

The North Central Fund received a tremendous boost with more than $100,000 raised for scholarships, faculty support, capital improvements and more.

Athletics

Athletic teams also saw great success, with women’s soccer, football and men’s lacrosse teams taking the top spots among teams in terms of dollars raised. These results were largely due to several coaches going above and beyond to organize appeals, solicit gifts and engage students … and to students setting up their own personalized giving pages to get the word out to family and friends. Kily Egan ’23, a member of the women’s soccer team, said, “It was a reminder of the incredible support we have at North Central College,” she said. “People are always willing to lend a hand to our programs and we are so blessed to be able to do all the things we do, like travel with our entire team.”

Welcome, parents! Alumni office gets a new name

The Office of Alumni Engagement is now known as the Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement. “We’re very excited about the change,” said Mary Reynolds, director of the newly expanded office. “Parents are such an important part of the North Central family.” Reynolds is quick to point out that her office has always welcomed parents to events. But the new office structure positions Reynolds and her staff to connect with parents on a regular basis and explore ways for them to contribute to the life of the College.

In related news, a number of staff members who are familiar to the College’s alumni have taken on new responsibilities:

• Lisa Pettaway ’94/M ’00 has been promoted to director of leadership annual giving

• Maria Caselli ’01/M ’08 has been promoted to director of the North Central College Fund

• Dana O’Donoghue has been promoted to associate director of development for parent and leadership annual giving

• Dean Bacon has been promoted to director of major giving

• Udo Agomo M ’21 has been promoted to advancement officer for major giving

• Mary Reynolds has been promoted to director of alumni and parent engagement

• Connor Bangs ’19 has been promoted to assistant director of alumni and parent engagement

• Sarah Morton ’13 has been promoted to assistant manager of advancement services/matching gift coordinator