Washington State University achieved a fundraising milestone on Wednesday, April 16, during the 10th annual #CougsGive day of giving, as donors provided more than $1 million in contributions in a single day for the first time.
During the 24-hour fundraising campaign, which ran from midnight to midnight on April 16, donors made a combined 1,645 gifts for $1,153,992 — a record giving total that shattered the previous high of $791,211 from 2022.
Nearly 200 unique funding areas spanning every WSU campus and college, in addition to student organizations and departments like Cougar Athletics, WSU Libraries, WSU Extension, and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, received donor support on Wednesday.
#CougsGive, which originated in 2015 as a celebration of WSU’s 125th anniversary, is a one-day philanthropic campaign intended to highlight areas of donor impact and current funding priorities while acknowledging the many individuals who make a statement by way of charitable contributions to WSU annually.
“There is no better way to celebrate the 10th anniversary of #CougsGive than with a record level of participation,” said Mike Connell, vice president of Advancement and CEO of the WSU Foundation. “The incredible engagement, social media activity, and participation culminated in our highest-ever giving day fundraising total, which will open doors for WSU students, faculty, research, and service initiatives system-wide. Thank you to everyone who came together to make this a remarkable day of giving for WSU.”
There is no better way to celebrate the 10th anniversary of #CougsGive than with a record level of participation. … Thank you to everyone who came together to make this a remarkable day of giving for WSU.
Mike Connell, vice president of Advancement and CEO of the WSU Foundation
Powered by peer-to-peer sharing, unlockable bonus gifts, and a little bit of competition, WSU donors broke several records on April 16.
Cougar Ambassadors, who can create a profile on the #CougsGive website and share personalized links, inspired 402 trackable gifts for $82,325 during the event. For the second year in a row, both of those numbers are record highs in the campaign.
WSU’s challenge donors also set records before #CougsGive even began. In the weeks leading up to the campaign, these sponsors committed 87 gifts worth $527,000 to the campaign. These gifts were available as either dollar-for-dollar matches or unlockable rewards for various campuses, colleges, and programs.
Since its inaugural event in 2015, #CougsGive has become a featured spring event at WSU. In total, donors have made more than 12,000 gifts for $5.5 million during this annual giving day.
“It is exciting to see what this campaign has evolved into over the past decade,” said Spencer Farrin, director of annual giving and executive director of #CougsGive. “This is a large project that requires collaboration, planning, and creativity from WSU staff, volunteers, alumni, and donors alike. For everything to come together this week like it did and culminate with record levels of support is the perfect encapsulation of WSU’s culture.”
