By Allyson Noenickx. Chief News Editor

On Feb. 14 the College held a 24-hour “I Love HC” fundraising challenge. In total over 6,100 participated in the day-long challenge, raising over $1.64 million and breaking the all-time 24-hour giving record for all liberal arts colleges of 5,683 donors set by Colgate University in 2013.

The Valentine’s Day themed challenge centered around the question, “What do you love about Holy Cross?”As a part of the challenge a small group of donors vowed to contribute $1 million to the College if 4,000 alumni, parents, students, and members of the campus community made a gift on Valentine’s Day. The 4,000 participant benchmark was surpassed around 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 14 and donations continued to roll in until the midnight deadline. Throughout the day Crusaders set additional challenges for their friends and pledged matching donations. A group of alumni and parents pledged $150,000 to the Crusader Athletics Fund  if 1,5000 donors allocated their gift or a portion of their gift to athletics teams. This goal was surpassed as over 1,700 gave to athletics. Within the Crusader Athletic Fund lacrosse led the pack in number of donors and amount raised with 234 donors giving $19,761.

For giving, the classes of 2017, 2020, 2019, and 2003 topped the class leaderboard with the class of 2018 rounding out the top five. Students were able to make donations on campus throughout the day as volunteers were posted in Kimball, the Science Complex, and the Hogan Campus Center. On campus student giving kicked off with a  free midnight breakfast courtesy of the Office of Advancement. The drive concluded with a senior class gift event at the Pub. The senior class led all class years in participation with 313 donations. Participants also had the opportunity to give online. The College partnered with GiveCampus, a digital fundraising platform, for the event. Nationally, donations were received from all 50 states during the challenge.

Last February the College gained national recognition for its successful “Give Purple” campaign. The 43-hour challenge with a goal of 2,500 participants exceeded all expectations as the College raised $1.94 million and received 6,226 donations. This year’s “I Love HC” campaign with it’s much shorter time frame and loftier goal of 4,000 donors served as a tougher challenge, but donors still managed to break giving records and exceed expectations once again.

“Holy Cross is an incredible community. It is so gratifying to see this manifestation of your spirit and love of alma mater. This was solidified again this morning when we saw a report from the recent Princeton Review recognizing Holy Cross among the top schools based on ROI and the ‘Best Alumni Network,’” said Tracy Barlok, vice president for advancement, in her message to the campus community.

The resounding success of the challenge bodes well for future campaigns as Crusaders continue to raise the bar. Such generosity will directly benefit students, financial aid, academic and faculty resources, faith and service initiatives, athletics, and more at the College.