Get ready to give

Jordan Kessler, Staff writer

Mercyhurst celebrates its fifth annual Giving Day on May 7.

Giving Day is a one-day online fundraising event that brings together all members of the Mercyhurst community.

Alumni, current students, friends and family come together to raise money for the school. The goal for each year is $50,000 and 500 donors in one day.

The money from this event goes towards the Mercyhurst Annual Fund (MAF). According to the website, The MAF is “an unrestricted fund that helps support literally everything we do as a university.”

The donated money goes towards bettering school operations, assisting with scholarships and supporting the Mercyhurst athletic teams.

“It is a critical component of the university budget,” Courtney Olevnik, director of Annual Giving at Mercyhurst, said. Olevnik is planning the campaign for this year’s event and will oversee it to make sure the event runs smoothly.

In the past, the trustees for each year of Giving Day focus on the money going towards a specific activity, major or event on campus. However, this year, the donations will be going all over campus to spread the impact.

Two trustees, both Mercyhurst alumni, are joining the fundraising team by matching the amounts given by each donor.

Stephen Fiedler graduated in 1985 and is the first of the two trustees. The second, John Langer, is a graduate of the class of 1995. If a donor gives $200, one of the trustees will match that amount and donate $200. By doing this, the trustees will double the value of your donation.

The total amounts donated is kept up-to-date live on the Mercyhurst Giving Day website. Additionally, every donor will have their name added to the Donor Wall on the website. Anyone is welcome to donate during Giving Day, even nonmembers of the Mercyhurst community.

The process of donation is very simple, and it is all online.

First, donors will have to fill out a form stating their name, affiliation to Mercyhurst, address, email, phone number and amount they want to donate.

Second, once filling out the majority of the form, the bottom portion asks if and how donors want to appear on the donor wall. Additionally, if the donation is being given for a specific reason, donors are more than welcome to leave a comment at the bottom of the form.

Finally, once submitted, the donation will appear on the Donor Wall and one of the two trustees for this year will match it.

This event is important to the school because of the impact each donation has on the campus and university.
“Every gift counts, no matter what size,” Olevnik said.

This day is meant to spread awareness about Giving Day to not only the Mercyhurst community, but to all areas Mercyhurst students and faculty have reached.

“It is a celebration of giving back to Mercyhurst, and because it is collaborative, each of us gets to feel as though we made a larger impact,” Olevnik said.

If donors are unable to give but still want to help the cause, they are encouraged to spread the word about Giving Day and to use social media to reach a broader audience. Supporters can use the hashtag #hurstgivingday and the link — givingday.mercyhurst.edu — in their posts about the event.