October 31, 2022

Donors to Columbus State University’s annual day of giving on Tuesday, Sept. 27 demonstrated that it’s hard to contain the CSU Cougars spirit to one day. The 2022 “CSU GIVES” campaign—part of the university’s week-long homecoming festivities—continued to inspire donors’ giving spirit into October. That unwavering spirit resulted in and benefited from increased levels of “CSU GIVES” support—in both the number and value of contributions—compared to 2021.

After 24 hours of online giving, donors had contributed more than $48,000 in gifts benefiting a wide range of university programs—including areas of greatest university needs, often referred to as “unrestricted giving.” By the time campaign giving leveled off in late October, donors had contributed $63,267.38—more than a 100% increase in online giving to the 2021 “CSU GIVES” campaign.

“Our donors prove time and again that the giving spirit among our alumni and friends is alive and well. That spirit is also alive among our students and employees, who also loyally give as part of this annual effort,” said Ashley Schley, director of annual giving in CSU’s Office of University Advancement. As a 2016 graduate of CSU’s Master of Public Administration program, Schley is both an alumna and employee of the university.

The value of donations was not the only increase Columbus State experienced during its 2022 “CSU GIVES” campaign. One-day giving activity included more than 400 gifts—which grew to 945 gifts when the campaign officially concluded. Those gifts, ranging from $1 to $10,000, also represented more than a 100% increase compared to 2021.

“Each donation to Columbus State represents an investment in our students—and by virtue of our role in local tourism, quality of life, workforce development and economic development—our community as well,” said Dr. Rocky Kettering, CFRE, CSU’s vice president for university advancement. “This year’s unprecedented support of ‘CSU GIVES’ also underscores the value of a providing a quality college education to our students and the value of a college degree to our society.”

“CSU GIVES” donors could designate their contributions to an area or need of the university that was meaningful to them. The five receiving the most support included unrestricted giving to the CSU Fund (which funds areas of greatest or emergent need); the College of Letters and Sciences; CSU Athletics; the College of Education and Health Professions; and the College of the Arts.

Leading up to and throughout Sept. 27, alumni and donors received video emails encouraging them to give and featuring Dr. John Fuchko III, interim president; Tim Money ’86, chair of the CSU Foundation; Twila Toombs ’05, president of the CSU Alumni Association; and Alexis Gray ’16, ’18, assistant director of alumni and student engagement.

Schley credits these videos and other elements of this year’s effort with contributing to the campaign’s overall success. First, the university hosted matching-gift challenges for Greek Life, its five colleges, and CSU Athletics. These pitted Greek fraternities and sororities, the academic colleges, and CSU’s 13 NCAA Division II sports teams against one another in their respective categories to see which could attract the greatest number of unique donations. Alpha Omicron Pi Fraternity, the Turner College of Business and CSU Baseball won that challenge, and each received an additional $1,000 in matching philanthropic funds.

The William B. Turner Center for Servant Leadership—which includes academic programming, community service and outreach, the Food Pantry at CSU, and now the Embark program for homeless and transient students—offered its donors a dollar-for-dollar match for their donations. This doubled donors’ impact on CSU students and resulted in a total of $1,130.32 raised for the center and its programs.

One of CSU’s enterprising alumni—two-time graduate Dr. Kimberley M. Scott ’01, ’02—issued a personal challenge by turning her entire birth month of October into a fundraising effort for Columbus State’s benefit. The Muscogee County School District educator and past CSU Alumni Association president dubbed the month “Kimtober” as she raised funds for the Dr. Kimberly M. Scott Teacher Education Scholarship Endowment that benefits teacher education students. Her month-long fundraising drive in conjunction with “CSU GIVES” netted more than $2,000 in donations of all sizes.

While the “CSU GIVES” campaign has officially concluded, Schley emphasized that charitable giving to Columbus State is a year-round opportunity.

“Each and every day, our donors support our students through scholarships, funds enhancing our academic programs and classroom learning, and gifts broadening their horizons through campus activities, leadership experiences and other co-curricular activities,” she said. “Opportunities to benefit those facets of the college experience abound. We consider it a privilege to partner with donors as they invest in our students through these ways.”

Columbus State offers a variety of ways to give to any area of the university a donor wishes to support. Opportunities include stocks, securities, real estate and property—in addition to more common gifts by check, credit card or debit card.

Alumni, former students and community supporters can give online or establish endowments—the latter of which are invested into perpetuity, thereby guaranteeing donors leave a lasting charitable impact on CSU for generations to come.

For more information about giving to Columbus State, contact the Office of University Advancement at 706.507.8987 or visit ua.columbusstate.edu.