Online donations open up midnight April 9 and the minimum gift amount is $5. There will also be contests — called giving challenges — that will earn additional funds for One Ball State Day causes. Here are the challenges scheduled for the fundraiser.
Early Bird Challenge
The first Cardinal to donate on the day will get to designate $2,000 in challenge funds to their chosen Ball State unit/organization.
Ball State Unit or Org with the Most Gifts
The Ball State unit/organization that donates the most will receive $6,000 for their unit/organization. The second place organization will receive $3,000 and third place $1,500.
Amount Raised Leaderboard
A leaderboard will be available so that people can track which unit/organization raises the most.
College Participation Leaderboard
A leaderboard will be set up so to track which college will raise the most gifts.
Academic Dept Participation Leaderboard
Another leaderboard will be set to track which academic department will get the most gifts.
Athletics Sport Participation Leaderboard
A leaderboard will help track which sports team will raise the most gifts.
Alumni Chapter Participation Leaderboard
A leaderboard will show which alumni chapter has been raising the most gifts
Employee Giving Challenge
Two Ball State employees who donate during a certain time frame will each designate $1,000 dollars to a chosen BSU organization or department fund.
Pet Challenge
One randomly selected photo of a pet with the #OneBallState and #BallStatePet will choose a BSU fund to receive $500.
Greek Life Challenge
If the Greek Life Fund receives 100 donors will unlock $2,500 from 1992 graduate Patrick Alderdice.
First Time Donor Challenge
A first-time donor will be allowed to designate $2,000 to a unit/ organization of their choosing.
Athletics Giving Challenge
Two donors who give to athletics in a certain time frame can give $1,000 dollars in challenge funds to two selected BSU sports teams.
One Ball State Day Event Challenges
One student and one employee attending the events at the Letterman Lobby will choose a BSU are to receive $500 in challenge funds.
Student Challenge
The 100 student donor will get to choose a Ball State fund to receive $1,000 in challenge funds.
GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade) Challenge
A graduate within the last decade who gives during a certain time frame will get to chose one Ball State unit/organization $1,000.
1000 Gifts
When 1,000 gifts have been received, $1,000 will be made available from Scott Wenclewicz, a 2006 graduate.
Goodnight Cardinals Challenge
A donor giving between 10 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. will get to choose a unit/ organization to receive $1,000.
1,918th Gift
$20,000 dollars will be awarded for student scholarships at the 1,918 gift sent in.
Marilyn Buck Matching Challenge
As a celebration of Marilyn Buck’s retirement, she will match up to $10,000 dollars to help future physical education programs.
Editor's note: The Ball State Daily News is taking part in the One Ball State Day fundraiser.
With centennial celebrations almost over, Ball State is looking to end strong by launching its inaugural One Ball State Day.
According to its website, One Ball State Day is a 24-hour online fundraising event held April 9 where Ball State alumni, faculty, staff and students can give out tax-deductible donations to a school, college, department or organization of choice.
Lola Mauer, vice president of strategy and advancement services, said this is the first event of its kind at Ball State.
“It's 24 hours of fundraising and engagement, people loving on Ball State and sharing why they love Ball State, largely driven by social media,” Mauer said.
The day-long fundraiser also includes events being held in the David Letterman Communication and Media Building.
Celebrations start with Pancakes with the President at 9:18 a.m. — providing free pancakes and bacon to the first 300 attendees — according to a campus-wide email sent by Ball State President Geoffrey Mearns.
After Pancakes with the President, three more events will be held: Cheers with the Chairs; Snaps and Snacks; and DJs, PJs and Pizza, the email states.
All events take place at the 18-minute mark of each hour to represent Ball State being established in 1918, Mauer said over email.
In addition to the four events, student organizations will have tables set up in the Letterman lobby for attendees to visit.
According to the event’s website, One Ball State Day also encourages students and staff to share the celebration on social media using #OneBallState and to wear Ball State apparel, along with donating to the university.
Mauer also said Ball State will be accepting donations through the Ball State Foundation during the day, where students can donate to a cause of their choosing.
“We have so many funds. We would never use this as a tagline, but it's almost like you could say, ‘What's your passion? We have a fund for that,’” Mauer said.
She said one of the main programs alumni donate to will be the Ball State Fund, which is a general pool of funds with which Ball State designates funding to different university institutions.
Victoria Ruble, philanthropy education specialist for the Ball State Foundation, said the inspiration for the event came from Columbia University and Purdue University, who have already held giving days.
“[Columbia University has] just been really great with the student side of getting student organizations involved and getting the overall campus excited about this event, because after all, [it] is our first ever, and it's a little nerve-wracking going into it,” Ruble said.
A goal for One Ball State Day is to educate the people about the process of giving, Ruble said.
“Some people don't know that you can actually select exactly where your gifts goes,” Ruble said. “There are crowdfunding, like passion projects [and] student organizations, departments and several areas of the university where people can choose where their gifts goes.”
Contact Charles Melton with comments at cwmelton@bsu.edu or on Twitter @Cmelton144.
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