#Roar4Widener shows power of our community, raises nearly $180,000
Widener University’s second annual #Roar4Widener Day of Giving showed significant gains in donors, gifts, and dollars raised this year compared to last year, helping to put even more resources in the hands of our students and faculty.
The event, which ran from noon to noon on April 12 and 13, gave alumni, parents, friends, faculty, staff, and students the opportunity to support one of 32 mini-campaigns that provided funding to all aspects of the university, or any other area of their choosing.
Athletic teams led the way, with more than $50,000 given to support our Division III student-athletes. Significant gifts were also given to experiential learning, academics, and community partnerships.
Preparations for Roar4Widener kicked off last fall as campus partners were invited to identify student success programs and initiatives that would benefit from donor support and had budgets ranging from just $500 all the way up to $20,000.
By the time the event officially began on April 12, Widener had already received leadership gifts and commitments from more than 200 alumni, parents, and friends, including significant campaign challenges from Board Chairman Paul Beideman ’79, ’14H; Trustee Tonie Leatherberry ’23; Trustee Richard Tan; Trustee James “Jamie” Hargadon ’75; Trustee Cathy Pulos; the Alumni Council; and anonymous challenges for SURCA and SAGA.
Each of these challenges was successfully met by the end of the event.
Roar4Widener was driven by focused, digital communications that shared positive messages about our community—volunteers posted messages on social media and the Esports team got into the action holding a livestream on Twitch that included challenges throughout the evening.
Overall, the effort saw a 29% increase in donors over last year, and their 968 gifts resulted in a 20% increase in funds. Best of all, $178,289 was raised to support students—12% more than was raised in 2022.
Donors represented all areas of the Widener community, with alumni accounting for 35% of total donors and led by recent graduates from the Class of 2022.
The incredible success of the Day of Giving is a testament to the university community’s commitment to our students and our mission.
“The Day of Giving is over, but our commitment to student success never ends. Thank you for helping to #BuildThePride!” —Terry Travis, Vice President of University Advancement