Waynesburg University

Waynesburg University is in the midst of planning for its sixth annual Day of Giving on Thursday, Nov. 4. To complement donations made over the phone and via a mailed check, 

the University is utilizing givebutter.com for this year’s online donation platform.  According to President Douglas Lee, the Day of Giving is important because it gives the University a metric of the support that it has from students and alumni.

“When the University works with foundations and other organizations on large gifts they are interested in knowing the level of support that the University gets from its community, its alumni and its friends,” he said. “When they see strong or strong support from that sector, that really helps to encourage these foundations and other organizations to give larger dollars to the University because they know that there’s a good community supporting it.”

David Floyd, director of development and alumni relations, said that Day of Giving offers alumni a chance to support the University and work with current students, faculty and staff.

“It also gives alumni just an opportunity to maybe take some pride in that apartment or a team that they were a part of and you know help them with the department or team challenge,” Floyd said. “It’s just a fun day on campus and hopefully a fun day for alumni to, you know, experience that from wherever they are as well.”

Lee said the Day of Giving has traditionally been used to raise funds for specific programs. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the University to change that focus to supporting the University’s efforts in dealing with the pandemic.

“The last two years have been sort of an exception to that rule, given the additional costs that we’ve incurred in the pandemic through hygiene, testing, et cetera,” Lee said. “So last year and this year a component of the Day of Giving is actually to help support that aspect of the university.”

Floyd said that focus will be achieved through donations to the Fund for Waynesburg and the goal for this year is to raise $250,000. 

According to waynesburg.edu/alumni-and-giving/day-giving, the department and team that “raises the most funds for the Fund for Waynesburg” will win $2,000. The department and team that places second will win $1,000, and every department and team will receive 20% of the funds that they raise. 

The slogan for this year is “One World. One WU. One Future.” Lee said that this slogan reflects the unity that he hopes is fostered at Waynesburg University. He said that he hopes that the sense of community that it fosters can spread to the outside world.

 “As our graduates go out and engage in their careers and life, you know, taking that sense of what a community can be in a time when there is a lot of discord in society and a lot of fragmentation and communities,” Lee said. “ And if we practice how to effectively create strong and healthy communities here, that could be a lesson for everyone to learn elsewhere.”