April 8, 2020 is the fourth annual LovEMU Giving Day – 24 hours in which alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents, and friends come together to support and celebrate the university we all love.
Eastern Mennonite University alumni often say they “loved their EMU experience!” Maybe it was a professor, a journey of self discovery, making friends for life, cross-cultural study or athletic team experience that they reflect on to this day. LovEMU Giving Day is a way to show that love, and helps the next generation of students have their very own EMU experience.
Do you still tell stories about that one time in nursing clinicals, or writing for the Weather Vane, or competing in cross-county races? With each gift, you can vote for your favorite academic program, athletic team, or student club, and the winner in each category will receive $1,000! In addition to supporting the mission of EMU as a whole, it’s a great way to pay homage to the campus experiences that mean the most to you.
While LovEMU is a big push for the University Fund, our number one student-centric fundraising priority, you can choose to direct your tax deductible gift to anything you’re passionate about – different programs within EMU, a Royals athletics team, or an endowment named for someone you admire, to name a few examples.
Even going beyond direct support, our level of alumni and donor participation demonstrates the quality of community and relationships at EMU. It boosts our rankings in U.S. News & World Report, helps us earn grants from corporations and foundations, and attracts high quality students and faculty. We need all of our alumni and friends, young and not-so-young, to pitch in no matter the size of gift – we just need you to show up together!
This year’s challenges
Altogether, generous donors have put up over $50,000 in “prizes” that we can unlock if we complete certain challenges together. Participation is the key – so be sure to pick which challenges you want to join in, and tell your friends!
- Six timed challenges will take place throughout the day, for a sum total of over $20,000 in matching gifts if we can meet the thresholds within those time periods. Check the LovEMU challenges page often on April 8 to see how we’re doing, and make sure your gift goes a long way! There are other incentives besides the financial prizes, too … did somebody say “Pie a President?”
- One challenge is already underway – the LovEMU Early Challenge! If we receive 40 gifts before LovEMU Giving Day, a generous alum will contribute an additional $5,000!
- For The ROYAL Challenge, $10,000 from a generous alum will be unlocked if we get 200 gifts from alumni on April 8.
- You don’t have to be an alum to join in! In the We Show Up TOGETHER Challenge, if you’re a student, parent, friend, or just a big fan, this one’s for you! If 150 non-alumni participate in LovEMU, $10,000 will be unlocked!
- To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, a generous alumni couple will match dollar-for-dollar any new gifts to CJP up to $10,000 in the Happy Birthday CJP Challenge.
- For the LEAD TOGETHER Challenge, whoever makes the largest single gift on April 8 of $1,000 or more will get to direct an extra $5,000 (from a generous board member) to the fund of their choice.
- If we receive gifts from all 50 U.S. states, we’ll unlock the 50 State Challenge for another $5,000!
We’ll need all hands on deck to get the word out about LovEMU. You can sign up to be a Social Media Ambassador, post about LovEMU on your social networks using #emugivingday, and tell your friends and family.Plan to show up together on LovEMU Giving Day April 8 by giving a gift online, phoning in a pledge at (540) 432-4200 or (800) 368-3383, or emailing us at devoffice@emu.edu.