Danielle Dentremont ’25

News Editor

On Feb. 25, 2022, the College of the Holy Cross’s seventh annual day of giving, The Power of Purple, took place. The College annually invites its community to “show the Power of Purple” through donations that will help to fund and support several of the College’s services and priorities, including: financial aid; faith and service; academic excellence; the arts; diversity, equity and inclusion; health and wellness; and the Crusader Athletics Fund for Excellence. 

The fundraising goal was four thousand donors, a number that was greatly exceeded with over 5,400 donors as of Feb. 26. Such donations totaled over 2.1 million dollars in funding for various services at the College. In alignment with the mantra “living the mission,” even after graduation from Holy Cross, alumni proved their lifelong commitment to the Holy Cross community by comprising over 70 percent of donors. Members of the Class of 1993 were the leading donors with over 67 thousand dollars in donations. 

Another significant group of donors was a group of Trustees who offered the challenge of donating 100 thousand dollars for every one thousand gifts. With over four thousand donors, the Trustees donated 400 thousand dollars. The Trustees also challenged the graduates of the last decade by offering to match every dollar—up to 50 thousand dollars—given by alumni in the classes of 2012 through 2021.

Linked to a story posted by Holy Cross’s official Instagram, a GiveCampus link showed that donations came in from all 50 states of the country—a true testament to the widespread Power of Purple. Also viewable by the link are the various allocations of donations. Nearly 1.5 million dollars of the donations were paid to the Holy Cross Fund, which supports every aspect of the College, from students to faculty to residential life. Also highly impactful were 130 thousand dollars donated to Financial Aid and over 60 thousand dollars to the Crusader Athletics Fund for Excellence. Some other groups that will benefit from Giving Day include: the Black Student Union, the Bishop Healy Emergency Fund, and the Esther Levine Student Success Fund, among others. 

Encapsulating the spirit of the Power of Purple in an Instagram video, President Vincent Rougeau said, “I invite you to join me in making a gift to Holy Cross as part of our wonderful Giving Day tradition. Help us to continue to live our mission boldly and thank you, most sincerely, for your loyalty and dedication to Holy Cross. You are The Power of Purple.”