During this year’s Notre Dame Day, $4,438,282 was raised for 881 different student clubs, residence halls and causes. 37,627 unique donors participated in this annual fundraising event, which began at 6:42 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29, lasting for 24 hours as an ode to the University's founding in 1842.
In a statement to The Observer, Brandon Tabor, the University's associate vice president for development who oversees Notre Dame Day, expressed gratitude to the alumni, parents and friends of the university who donated in support of students and Notre Dame’s mission.
The Notre Dame Day team runs a 14-hour live broadcast on Notre Dame Day to showcase the organizations raising money. Tabor wrote that for the second year in a row, the team has pushed to include more students in this broadcast.
“Over half the content featured Notre Dame students, showcasing their clubs and residence halls. We also introduced some exciting new elements, like the ND Listens Lip Sync Battle and the first-ever Rock, Paper, Scissors Hall Challenge, which was an absolute blast!” he wrote, expressing hopes that these events will become strong traditions students participate in each year.
Organizations raising money could also compete in a series of challenges, most notably to earn a percentage of $250,000 in the Challenge Fund based on how many individual donations they received. The Ara Parseghian Medical Research Fund, the Office of Financial Aid, the Notre Dame Glee Club and St. Edward’s Hall were among the organizations with the most donors.
The Notre Dame Day team works with the causes throughout the year to understand how to best assist them in raising money for their future projects and goals.
“The real success of Notre Dame Day lies in sharing these real-world impacts on real lives and demonstrating how our students are a crucial part of that story,” Tabor wrote, adding that showcasing these impacts has been the best way to engage donors.
He noted that the Women’s Water Polo Club uses their donations to remove financial barriers for participants. Mariachi ND also removes financial barriers for their members by providing uniforms and instruments.
Tabor also highlighted Notre Dame Day's impact on the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Fund, which has achieved two FDA-approved treatments for children who have Niemann-Pick Type C, a rare disease, after raising money with Notre Dame Day for over a decade.
