Brother Rice’s first annual Crusader Day of Giving, which ran on Tuesday, May 5th, netted $302,450 from 1,577 donors — setting a record for most dollars raised through a single day of fundraising.
Brother Rice’s Crusader Day of Giving is a 24-hour online, social-media-driven effort that supports the students at Brother Rice. This year, alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff and friends made gifts ranging from the minimum $10 to $20,000, directing their contributions to Crusader Fund, which represents an investment in Brother Rice students through direct financial aid and ensures campus facilities, from technology to the physical building, are properly maintained.
“Crusader Day of Giving is about celebrating and building up the Brother Rice family,” said President Mark Donahue. “The engagement of the Brother Rice community was remarkable and we are so grateful to have such strong support.”
To encourage engagement throughout the day, the Crusader Day of Giving campaign featured a variety of challenges and donation-matching initiatives. For example, Principal Bob Alberts shaved his head and beard on a live “Brother Rice TV” broadcast after reaching 200 student participants. There were also exclusive prizes for donors and the Gold Key Raffle with cash prizes. Among gifts made on the day, Brother Rice had dollar for dollar matches and decade challenges, generously donated by alumni including Bob Amedio ‘93, Matt Bianciotto ’03, Keith Brandenburger ‘95, Nick Caulfield ‘78, Dan (and Liz) Huber ‘03, Don Liebentritt ‘68, Ed (and Lori) McGunn ‘80, Chad Prosen ’95, Kevin Ryan ’67, Jerry Sweeney ’81.
The Crusader Day of Giving ran on in conjunction with the Feast Day of Brother Rice’s religious order’s founder, Edmund Rice and the new global day of giving, #GivingTuesdayNow, which was added in addition to the regularly scheduled November Giving Tuesday campaign as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19. Many Brother Rice families have been financially impacted in this current pandemic crisis and are in need of support. Brother Rice is very thankful for those who came together and made contributions that will directly impact current and future Crusaders.
