THUNDER BAY – Giving Tuesday was a major success at Lakehead University. Alumni, friends of the university, faculty, staff, and other donors raised more than $216,000 for student financial aid.
Lakehead’s original goal was $52,500, which was the reason Dr. Moira McPherson, president and vice-chancellor, was so impressed by the exceptional amount they raised.
“We were absolutely blown away by the generosity of our alumni, staff, faculty, and friends,” McPherson said.
“Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would exceed our goal by 400 per cent. The impact of this generosity on our students will be tremendous.”
A matching-gift incentive caused several major donors to jump at the chance to increase their existing awards, or establish new ones.
In the weeks leading up to the event, alumni and friends were encouraged to participate on social media and McPherson attributed this year’s success to the University’s use of email and social media, as well as a university-wide approach to this special day of giving.
“Lakehead’s internal community responded very positively, as did the Alumni Board and the Board of Governors. In fact, the participation rate for both boards was at an all-time high in 2021,” McPherson said.
The majority of Lakehead’s donors were from Canada, primarily Ontario. But Lakehead also received several international gifts, from as far away as Finland and China.
Lakehead also once again held a competition between alumni from different decades, with graduates from, the 80s outpacing grads from all other decades.
Eight new awards were created at the University, and contributions were made to dozens of endowed funds due to the tremendous turnout from Lakehead donors.
“Thank you to all of our donors for supporting Lakehead students,” Dr. McPherson said.
This brings the total to more than $540,000 that Lakehead has received on Giving Tuesday since the University first started participating in 2016.
