Purdue Day of Giving 2022 raises record $68.2 million

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The ninth annual Purdue Day of Giving, held Wednesday (April 27), invited donors to power the university’s next giant leap, and they responded with a resounding $68.2 million in contributions, outstripping last year’s $52.5 million and setting a record for most dollars raised for higher education through a single-day campaign.

The 24-hour online, social media-driven event inspired a record 26,726 gifts and brought Purdue Day of Giving’s cumulative total, since 2014, to $309.7 million.

“When the Purdue family comes together, amazing things happen,” said Purdue President Mitch Daniels. “So I’m thrilled – but not surprised – by this record-setting outpouring of generosity. We are grateful to everyone who donated for supporting our persistent pursuit of the next giant leap.”

The fundraising event featured participating units across the West Lafayette, Fort Wayne and Purdue Northwest campuses and Purdue Global, the online university tailored to working adults. Local county Extension offices also participated, allowing each county in Indiana to raise funds for Extension programming. New participants for 2022 included the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue, the Office of Engagement and the Purdue Military Research Institute.

Through 30 hourly challenges and six #Igave challenges, 74 academic and nonacademic programs competed for cash prizes. In addition, 259 student organizations participated in a giving challenge specifically for them, and students and staff took part in an on-campus

carnival that featured a 60-foot-tall Ferris wheel, yard games, a photo booth, food trucks and more.

Gifts ranged from $10 to $6 million, supporting a range of programs and academic initiatives. Among the gifts made:

• $6 million from Jim and Jeannie Chaney to the College of Pharmacy.

• $2 million from Beth Brooke, divided among the School of Management, the LGBTQ Center and Intercollegiate Athletics, in honor of Sharon Versyp as the winningest women’s basketball coach in Purdue history.

• $1.5 million from an anonymous donor to fund undergraduate scholarships and a professor of practice position in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering.

• $1 million from Brian and Irene Binash: $500,000 for the Stewart Center renovation and $500,000 to create a matching-gift opportunity for the Emerging Leaders Scholars program.

• A $25,000 pledge commitment from Jackie Bayer in support of The Jacqueline Maynard Bayer Scholarship in Liberal Arts in Honor of James R. and Marilynn Bottomley Dammon Endowment.

• $20,000 from Chris Esquire to endow, in honor of his mother, the S.J. Esquire Memorial Scholarship for a student in Purdue Global’s cybersecurity degree program.

• $111 from Alina Alexeenko to the Ukrainian Student Association.

• $10 from Molly Grotjan, a senior in agribusiness, to the College of Agriculture.

“For eight out of the past nine years, Purdue has set the record for dollars raised through a higher education day of giving,” said Matt Folk, president and CEO of the Purdue for Life Foundation and vice president of university development and alumni engagement for Purdue University. “We are very grateful to the thousands of students, alumni, friends, faculty and staff of Purdue who support this university so generously. The dollars raised through this event have helped keep frozen tuition in place for 11 years and students in the classroom throughout a pandemic. Through Purdue Day of Giving, the Purdue family is granting opportunity and building for the future, together. As an alumnus, I am so proud of our Purdue family.”

To view the Purdue Day of Giving thank-you video and hourly-challenge and full-day-challenge winners, visit Dayofgiving.purdue.edu. About Purdue for Life Foundation

The Purdue for Life Foundation helps friends and alumni of Purdue University stay connected, get involved and give back. Created in March 2020, the foundation deepens alumni ties to Purdue, drives and coordinates all alumni-related activities across the Purdue family’s postgraduation lives and works with alumni and friends to garner support for the University.