Mirroring similar events at Cornell and Purdue, Syracuse University on Tuesday launched a 24-hour fundraising campaign called Boost the ‘Cuse. 

These campaigns, typically called “giving days” or “days of giving” by colleges, help institutions rake in thousands of dollars for initiatives and programs in a short span of time.

“The key for a project like this is broad participation,” said Sean Scanlon, SU’s vice president of development. Alumni, students, faculty and staff on Tuesday are all encouraged to donate, Scanlon said. The event will end at midnight.

Officials want total contributions to “significantly exceed” a recent $500,000 gift by alumnus Dan D’Aniello, who graduated from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management in 1968, Scanlon said.

D’Aniello is a co-founder and chairman of the Carlyle Group, a multinational alternative asset management firm. The Carlyle Group owns a stake in the company that produces popular “Beats by Dre” headphones.

A part of D’Aniello’s $500,000 gift will be used as an incentive to increase Boost the ‘Cuse participation. The university plans to allocate some of his money, as special “challenge” awards, to units on campus.

For example, the unit with the highest number of donors who contribute to the General Scholarship Fund will win $20,000 in prize money from D’Aniello’s gift. Donors can include faculty, staff and administrators. All schools and colleges are eligible for prize funds, but other programs including the athletics department and Institute for Veterans and Military Families can also win money.

This particular challenge is tied to Invest Syracuse, Scanlon confirmed, a $100 million fundraising initiative that aims to support goals set out in Chancellor Kent Syverud’s broad Academic Strategic Plan.

“Invest Syracuse is not the focus of the day, but is certainly a large element,” Scanlon said. “Many of the challenge dollars from Mr. D’Aniello will go toward matching the Invest Syracuse initiative.”

The university has been planning its 24-hour campaign for months. Faculty and staff across the country, at academic centers in Los Angeles and New York City, among other places, will be coordinating local outreach efforts.

“It’s a great moment to show how supportive our alumni base is,” said David Wishart, assistant vice president for philanthropic engagement. Wishart oversees the committee of administrators who helped design Boost the ‘Cuse. He’s worked at SU for six years.

Scanlon got involved in the campaign last year after taking a job at SU. Before that, Scanlon served as associate dean for alumni affairs, development and corporate relations at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management.

“We looked down the road closely at what Cornell has done,” Wishart said. “We looked at Columbia, we certainly had a conference call or two with Purdue.”

Cornell, in one giving day this March, raised more than $6 million with 8,640 contributions. Columbia University, during its first ever “Giving Day” event, held in 2012, raised almost $7 million with about 5,000 contributions.

Purdue University, meanwhile, raised about $28 million earlier this year with more than 15,000 donations during a 24-hour campaign called “All Together.” Purdue has put on a “spectacle” over the last few years, Wishart said.

Alumni are the focus of Boost the ‘Cuse, Scanlon said. But the campaign also encourages students, faculty and staff to make contributions.

“I balk at that a little bit,” said James Franco, the university’s Student Association president. Franco said students who have the financial means and calling to contribute can do so.

But, he will not personally urge students to donate Tuesday. Many students do not have the means or calling to contribute at this time, Franco said.

Published on October 17, 2017 at 12:28 am

Contact Sam: sfogozal@syr.edu | @SamOgozalek