Members of the Future Alumni Association celebrated the success of the Blue Demon Challenge, which raised $120,506 for DePaul within 24 hours. (Photo courtesy of the Office of Advancement)
Last week, more than 1,000 donors decided to meet the Blue Demon Challenge and unlock a generous matching gift. In total, the one-day giving marathon raised $120,506 for the university, and DePaul students had a significant role in making this year's challenge a success.
As part of Blue Demon Week 2018, DePaul hosted the fifth annual Blue Demon Challenge on Feb. 22 and put out a call for 1,000 donors to make a gift of any size. If the university met its goal of 1,000 gifts within 24 hours, an anonymous donor would contribute $50,000.
By midnight on Feb. 22, a total of 1,034 donors from across the country had contributed more than $70,000. With the matching gift of $50,000, the challenge raised a total of $120,506.
"The Blue Demon Challenge was a resounding success. Students, faculty and staff provided crucial support to help unlock the $50,000 match," says Sarah Myksin, director of Annual Giving.
Through DePaul's Telefund program, 28 students called alumni and friends, bringing in 149 gifts over the phone. In addition, seven members of DePaul's Future Alumni Association spread the word about the challenge at different locations across campus. More than 80 students and more than 150 faculty and staff made a gift during the challenge.
"The most popular designation during the challenge was the general scholarship fund to help continue DePaul's tradition of being accessible to all," Myksin says.
The one-day challenge has now raised more than $400,000 for the university over the past five years.