Day of Giving Surpasses Goals, Launches Help & Hope Fund

On March 18th, the eighth annual Hearts on Fire Day of Giving surpassed fundraising goals, garnered record engagement, and launched the Help & Hope Fund.

This year, 900 donors committed an impressive $208,351—surpassing the $200,000 goal set for the day. Once again, the DeSales Fund was the top designation, supporting one of the University’s highest priorities of scholarships and financial aid. New this year, the Help & Hope Fund was launched as a critical lifeline for students facing financial hardship and unexpected circumstances. This fund will provide timely, flexible assistance that helps students stay enrolled and on the path to graduation and raised $14,118 to support students when they need it most so that no emergency or financial shortfall derails their academic journey.

Donors also unlocked critical funds through challenges benefitting scholarships, club sports, and the various schools and colleges in DeSales’ new academic structure.

“Watching our entire DeSales community join in the excitement and inspiration of the day is always such a joy to experience,” shared Carrie Gradin, Director of Annual Giving. “It’s truly impressive what we can achieve together, and we couldn’t be more grateful to everyone in the DeSales family who supported, shared, and showed up for our Bulldogs.” 

Along with the Bulldog Bark-a-Thon, the athletics Day of Giving taking place in the fall, DeSales has raised more than $315,000 through crowd-funding campaigns, shattering records for online support for programs, teams, and scholarships in one fiscal year.