These numbers were updated at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning
The seventh annual Pitt Day of Giving – a 24-hour fundraising initiative – took place throughout Tuesday. This year’s PDoG raised $2,405,864, down about 19% from last year’s event, which raised $2,956,566.
A total of 9,450 donors contributed this year, while last year’s PDoG event had 11,046 donors. As of midnight Tuesday, organizations had 24 hours to raise funds online.
Pitt members and organizations spent Tuesday encouraging supporters to donate to their initiatives through social media. Donations are broken down into six main competitive categories: Top Priority Areas, Schools & Colleges, Places, Experiences & More, Pitt Alumni Association, Pitt Athletics, and Student Organizations.
The Top Priority Areas category included the General Scholarship Fund, the Student Emergency Relief Fund, and the Pitt Fund. The Schools & Colleges category consisted of schools within the university, such as B. Pitt Nursing and Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Also in this category were Pitt’s regional campuses in Bradford, Greensburg, and Johnstown.
The Places, Experiences & More included various university organizations such as Student Affairs, Heinz Memorial Chapel and the University Library System. The Pitt Athletics category included funds such as the Band Championship Fund and the Football Championship Fund.
Student organizations included groups such as Club Cheerleading, the Hillel Jewish Student Union, and the Hydroponics Club.
According to Jake Strang, associate vice chancellor for alumni and annual giving, PDoG hosted in-person events and activities on its main campus as well as regional campuses.
The main campus program for PDoG included a 15-site puzzle hunt across campus and a large PDoG puzzle in the Alumni Hall Connolly Ballroom. PDoG and the Pitt Alumni Student Network also hosted a party at the Connolly Ballroom in the Alumni Hall on Tuesday night.
Abby Dean, President of the Blue and Gold Society, helped plan the party. She said she spoke to various Pitt entities, such as the Office of Sustainability, to spread the word about PDoG.
“Social media played a big part, but we also just spoke to various student groups about what philanthropy means,” said Dean, a senior life sciences major. “Philanthropy isn’t just about giving money, it’s about giving your time and your talents.”
The Catholic Newman Club won the Student Organizations category with 865 donations raising $8,600. It won a $5,000 bonus for first place in the category.
Pitt Rowing Club placed second in the category and won a $2,500 bonus. 632 gifts raised a total of $8,463.
Pitt Rowing President Delaney Sniffen said the team is “extremely grateful” for the donations the club has received from alumni, family and friends.
“It’s amazing that, year after year, our support system responds to PDoG’s call to help us cover travel, equipment and events costs,” said Sniffen, a junior graduate student in rehabilitation science. “I think that’s because our athletes talk a lot about their experience on the team and alumni like to remember it.”
Pitt Men’s Rugby Club won a $1,500 third place bonus, raising $5,015 from 244 gifts. Pittsburgh Electric Propulsion placed fourth, winning a $1,000 bonus with a total of 211 gifts raising $1,938.
In addition to donations, organizations were able to win prize money in various challenges. These included the Power Hour Challenges, where participants in the Schools & Colleges, Student Organizations, Pitt Athletics, and Places and Experiences & More categories had a chance to win an additional $1,000 for receiving the most donations in their respective hour have.
Pitt Rowing Club won the Power Hour Challenge for Student Organizations; Pitt Greensburg won the Schools and Colleges Challenge; Osher Lifelong Learning Institute won him for Places, Experiences & More; and the Cheer, Dance & Mascot Championship Fund won him for Pitt Athletics.
The Pitt Fund won the Areas of Greatest Priority category, raising $33,554 from 559 donors.
The Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences received a $10,000 bonus for winning the School & College category with 746 gifts.
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute received a $10,000 bonus for winning the Places, Experiences and More category with 372 gifts.
Cheer, Dance & Mascot Championship Fund won the Pitt Athletics category with 598 gifts raising $15,566. It received a $6,000 first place bonus.
The Pitt Alumni Association raised more than $28,000 from more than 300 donors.
According to Strang, anyone can donate to the organizations and funds through the PDoG site. He also said individuals could donate non-perishable groceries to the Pitt Pantry.
“The best thing about Pitt Day of Giving is that today anyone from anywhere in the world can participate,” Strang said. “Pitt students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, friends and donors, the entire Pitt community – near and far – can participate in Pitt Day of Giving by making a donation to the area or areas at Pitt, mean the most to them.”
Dean was “ecstatic” that so many people from around the world took part in PDoG. She said she enjoys attending PDoG because she gets to meet so many students on campus that she hasn’t met.
“There were so many faces that I hadn’t seen before when I came in and participated in the philanthropy, which is really exciting,” Dean said. “We wanted it to be a campus-wide experience to connect students. I think the most rewarding thing for me is seeing students from all areas of campus come together to celebrate Pitt.”
Editor’s Note: The Pitt News entered Pitt Day of Giving in the Student Organizations category.
