Last year alone, Ball State received more than 22,000 donations that amounted to more than $17 million.
This year, the university was hoping to continue that trend as well as thank those donors at the 4th annual Thank A Donor Day hosted by the Ball State University Foundation and the Philanthropy Education Council, which took place Tuesday evening at Pruis Hall.
Lola Mauer, the adviser for the Philanthropy Education Council, said Thank A Donor Day is a way for students to celebrate alumni and share the impact of the donations alumni give.
“We wanted a way for not only students to be able to celebrate the thousands of alumni, friends, parents who give back to the university annually, but we also wanted to share with students the impact of philanthropy,” Mauer said. “I think there is a general misunderstanding that tuition gets the job done — that it pays for the full educational experience — and that is not the case.”
President Geoffrey S. Mearns spoke at the beginning of the event, thanking the donors who came. He gave several examples of how Ball State was impacted by donations in the past.
“[Ball State] was founded as a result of generous philanthropy,” Mearns said, referring to how the Ball Brothers donated land and a building that would later become part of the university.
Mearns also mentioned that Emens Auditorium was a result of factory workers in Muncie in the 1960s giving a part of their pay to the theater’s construction.
In addition to the speakers, the event consisted of free food, prizes and social media contests. There was even a Snapchat filter.
Students also filled out thank you cards that will be mailed to donors. Mauer said the council had set a goal of 3,500 cards.
Victoria Ruble, a sophomore Philanthropy Council Ambassador who led the team that put together Thank A Donor Day, said that as of Monday they had collected about 2,800 cards.
The idea behind the cards is that the more students who participate in this event and write cards, the more they will realize that Cardinals are grateful for the funds donated to Ball State, and in return, they will donate back to the university after they graduate.
Alumnus Cory Spaulding, who spoke at the event, said it’s important for students to realize tuition and state funding don’t “balance the books,” — meaning more university money comes from donations.
“It is true that without the generosity of our alumni, campus would look very different than it does today,” Spaulding said.
Students who filled out a thank you card got to vote for an organization to receive $2,000 and Cardinal Kitchen won.
RELATED: Cardinal Kitchen provides resources for Ball State students
Also, the Ball State University Foundation will award $250 to the Ball State Greek organization, student organization, department and athletics team with the most students in attendance at the event.
Katie Wolfert, president of the Philanthropy Education Council, said these winners will be announced at an unknown later date.
Contact Hannah Gunnell with comments hrgunnell@bsu.edu.
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