Credit: Illinois Wesleyan University
Donors pledged $2,391,253 for Illinois Wesleyan’s annual “All in for Wesleyan” on April 19. About 3,330 alumni, parents, friends, faculty, staff and students came together to give back to Illinois Wesleyan.
“All in for Wesleyan” is a virtual giving day that raises money for scholarships, innovative learning opportunities and more.
There were three main benchmarks for the day: the 1,850th donor (IWU’s founding year), the $1 million mark and the overall goal of $1.25 million.
“‘All In’ is important, because it helps increase alumni, parents, friends, faculty, staff and students’ sense of pride and connection to IWU,” director of annual giving Val Hawkins said.
According to Hawkins, “All in for Wesleyan” is IWU’s largest fundraising event of the year. This year’s theme was “Always a Titan.”
“The experiences, knowledge and relationships alumni gain from IWU lasts forever,” Hawkins said.
IWU also utilizes student workers that call alumni for fundraising campaigns.
“I love connecting with alumni at a personal level and hearing their stories about why they donate,” Titan Talker Isabella Parish said.
Though 1,697 alumni made up a majority of the donations for “All In,” there was an increase of student-giving this year. There was a 41 percent increase in students who donated and a 39 percent increase in the dollars donated by students.
“It was an extraordinary display of students supporting students,” Hawkins said. For students on campus, IWU also hosted a donut and avocado toast bar in the morning and brought a Kona Ice truck to celebrate.
The final total was achieved through donation challenges for alumni throughout the day, and the goal was surpassed after an additional $1 million donation from an anonymous donor after reaching the $1.25 million mark.
“All in for Wesleyan helps Titans, past and present, reflect on their time spent on campus and the lifelong memories made here,” Hawkins said.
3) What events were held? What was the attendance like?
We had three successful student events across campus, including a donut and avocado toast bar in the morning and a Kona Ice truck in the evening.
4) Why is “All in” important? What does the phrase “All in For Wesleyan” mean?
All in for Wesleyan is our largest fundraising event of the year. Funds raised through All In benefit current and future students at Illinois Wesleyan through scholarships and innovative learning opportunities. Apart from fundraising, All In is important, because it helps increase alumni, parents, friends, faculty, staff, and students’ sense of pride and connection to IWU!
All in for Wesleyan helps Titans – past and present – reflect on their time spent on campus and the lifelong memories made here. Which is exactly why we chose the theme “Always a Titan” – the experiences, knowledge, and relationships alumni gain from IWU lasts forever.
5) What group donated the most, and were there any specific people or groups that were able to raise the most—for example, athletic teams usually make a strong push!
You can see a full report of giving on our homepage under “leaderboards”
Our alumni group donated the majority of funds during All In. We also saw an amazing increase of student-giving this year! There was a 41% increase in students who donated, and a 39% increase in the dollars donated. This is an extraordinary display of students supporting students.
Thank you again!